Abstract
BackgroundAn acute upper respiratory tract infection (URI) is the most common disease worldwide, irrespective of age or sex. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term effect of diurnal temperature range (DTR) on emergency room (ER) visits for URI in Seoul, Korea, between 2009 and 2013.MethodsDaily ER visits for URI were selected from the National Emergency Department Information System, which is a nationwide daily reporting system for ER visits in Korea. URI cases were defined according to International Classification of Diseases, 10thRevision codes J00–J06. The search for DTR effects associated with URI was performed using a semi-parametric generalized additive model approach with log link.ResultsThere were 529,527 ER visits for URI during the study period, with a daily mean of 290 visits (range, 74–1942 visits). The mean daily DTR was 8.05 °C (range, 1.1–17.6 °C). The cumulative day (lag 02) effect of DTR above 6.57 °C per 1 °C increment was associated with a 1.42% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04–2.82) increase in total URI. Children (≤ 5 years of age) were affected by DTR above 6.57 °C per 1 °C, with 1.45% (95% CI 0.32–2.60) at lag 02, adults (19–64 years) with 2.77% (95% CI 0.39–5.20) at lag 07. When the DTR (lag02) was 6.57 °C to 11.03 °C, the relative risk was significant at 6.01% (95% CI 2.45–9.69) for every 1 °C increase in youth subjects aged for 6 to 18 years.ConclusionsDTR was associated with a higher risk for ER visits for URI. In addition, the results suggested that the lag effects and relative risks of DTR on URI were quite different according to age.
Highlights
Acute upper respiratory tract infections (URI), which include nasopharyngitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, tracheitis, and epiglottitis, are the most common diseases worldwide, irrespective of age or sex [1]
There is a study that analyzed the years of life lost (YLL) among health effects related to diurnal temperature range (DTR) [14]
We explored the descriptive statistics of daily URI cases, climate, and air pollutant variables and performed Spearman’s correlation analysis between URI cases and the exposure variables
Summary
Acute upper respiratory tract infections (URI), which include nasopharyngitis (common cold), sinusitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, tracheitis, and epiglottitis, are the most common diseases worldwide, irrespective of age or sex [1]. The incidence of the common cold ranges from 6 to 10 episodes per year in preschool-age children, 7 to 12 in Seasonal variation in the incidence of URI is a common phenomenon, there is a widely held folklore that rapid changes in air temperatures are the cause of URI. An acute upper respiratory tract infection (URI) is the most common disease worldwide, irrespective of age or sex. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term effect of diurnal temperature range (DTR) on emergency room (ER) visits for URI in Seoul, Korea, between 2009 and 2013
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