Does the weather influence dementia admissions?

Abstract

There is currently no literature on the relationship between weather parameters and admissions of organic brain syndromes such as dementias. In this present study we aimed to examine the effect of weather parameters such as relative humidity, sunshine hours, diurnal variations in temperature and rainfall on dementia admissions in North Cheshire. Daily number of hospital admissions of dementias and other diagnoses in North Cheshire was analysed in relation to meteorological data, which were measured at the nearest meterological office to the study population. The study found no evidence of any statistically significant association between weather parameters and dementia admissions. There was a weak, lagged inverse relationship between dementia admissions and relative humidity and a positive association with diurnal variations in temperature within a week of admission. However, neither finding achieved statistical significance. The study is the first in currently available literature on the subject and may therefore provide a base reference for future studies. The interesting observation relating to relative humidity and diurnal variations in temperature is unexpected and may suggest further research.