Warm Front Passage on the Previous Day Increased Ischemic Stroke Events

Abstract

Background and Purpose: The influence of a weather front passage is rarely evaluated on stroke events. We hypothesized that a weather front passage on the stroke onset day or during the previous days may play an important role in the incidence of stroke. Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of stroke events and their interaction with weather front passages. Consecutive acute stroke patients (n = 3935, 73.5 ± 12.4 years, 1610 females) who were admitted to 7 stroke hospitals in 3 cities from January 2012 to December 2013 were enrolled in this study. Multivariate Poisson regression models involving time lag variables were used to compare the daily rates of stroke events with the day of a weather front passage and the previous 6 days, adjusting for considerable influences of ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. Results: There were a total of 33 cold fronts and 13 warm fronts that passed over the 3 cities during the study period. The frequency of ischemic stroke significantly increased when a warm front passed on the previous day (risk ratio 1.34, 95% confidence interval 1.07-1.69, P= .016). Conclusions: This study indicated that a weather front passage on the previous days may be associated with the occurrence of stroke.