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At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

Weather influence on the prevalence of carbon monoxide intoxications.

In a retrospective study over 7 years, data from patients admitted to the Emergency Department with CO intoxication, together with meteorological data were analysed. A statistically significant difference in weather conditions was noticed between CO-intoxication days and reference days. Different weather conditions were found to be present, according to the source of CO, i.e. gas boiler or coal stove. If these data are confirmed, a major role in the prevention of CO intoxication or its sequellae can be played by the media through weather broadcasting. Warning can raise the index of suspicion of physicians and warn the population for vague, collectively appearing sensations of ill feeling.

Adolescent↗

Weather conditions and Bell's palsy: five-year study and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Climatic or meteorological condition changes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Bell's palsy (BP). We evaluate the influence of meteorological parameters, such as temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, and their variation and covariation on the incidence of BP and present a review of the literature on the effect of meteorological conditions on facial nerve function. METHODS: A total of 171 cases of BP admitted to our Department over a five-year period were studied. The meteorological database included daily values of 13 distinct parameters recorded at the meteorological station of the University of Ioannina during this period. A relationship between each meteorological variable and the incidence of BP was investigated by applying (Chi2) test on data from 13 contingency tables. In addition, the influence of different weather types on the incidence of BP was also investigated. For this purpose Cluster Analysis was used to create eight clusters (weather types) for the Ioannina prefecture and (Chi2) test was applied on the contingency tables consisting of the days of BP cases for each cluster. RESULTS: No significant correlation was found either between BP and each distinct meteorological parameter or between BP and any specific weather. CONCLUSIONS: Meteorological conditions, such as those dominating in the Northwestern Greece, and/or their changes have little effect on the incidence of BP. Multicenter studies taking into account atmospheric pollution, and climatic differences between countries, are necessary to scrutinize the environmental effects on facial nerve function.

Bell Palsy↗

A weather-driven model of malaria transmission.

BACKGROUND: Climate is a major driving force behind malaria transmission and climate data are often used to account for the spatial, seasonal and interannual variation in malaria transmission. METHODS: This paper describes a mathematical-biological model of the parasite dynamics, comprising both the weather-dependent within-vector stages and the weather-independent within-host stages. RESULTS: Numerical evaluations of the model in both time and space show that it qualitatively reconstructs the prevalence of infection. CONCLUSION: A process-based modelling structure has been developed that may be suitable for the simulation of malaria forecasts based on seasonal weather forecasts.

Africa↗

Influence of the day of the week and the weather on people using a telephone support system.

The calls to a telephone counselling service at Louvain, during a 21-month period, from one telephone zone were analysed. Data were studied in relation to the type of weather, which was recorded every day. Calls made by women about health and interpersonal problems showed a relationship to the weather, while calls apparently motivated by masturbation intentions from male callers increased when the weather improved.

Belgium↗

Seasonal and weather factors in parasuicide.

BACKGROUND: Seasonal variation in suicide and parasuicide has previously been reported. Few investigations have examined whether meteorological factors could influence suicidal behaviour, and the inconclusive results produced may be due to a variety of methodological problems. The present study overcomes some previous difficulties and tested whether parasuicide admission rate is related to weather variables. METHOD: Over 12,000 admissions for parasuicide were analysed by month, season, and in relation to meteorological data, which were measured close to the admitting hospital. RESULTS: Marked seasonal (P < 0.001) and monthly (P < 0.001) variations in mean daily parasuicide numbers were seen in women but not men. Small but highly significant correlations were demonstrated between parasuicide rate and weather parameters (P < 0.01), which were more marked in women (P < 0.01). These effects were additional to the monthly variation (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Weather has a small influence on parasuicide. Gender differences in body temperature regulation might account for the sex difference seen.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗

The influence of weather on the frequency of secondary post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage.

The aim of this study was to determine whether certain weather variables influence the secondary post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage rate and to examine the influence of a change in these variables on secondary haemorrhage. This was a prospective study carried out in a tertiary referral institution. All patients undergoing bilateral tonsillectomy over a one-year period were included. Local weather data, including daily temperature (max/min), relative humidity and water vapour pressure, were acquired. All patients readmitted to our department with secondary post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage were recorded. Of 346 patients undergoing tonsillectomy, 32 developed secondary haemorrhage (9.2 per cent). A significant negative correlation was found between secondary haemorrhage rate and the average monthly temperature (max/min) and water vapour pressure (Pearson's correlation = -0.8) (p < or = 0.002). These results suggest that performing tonsillectomy in warmer weather when the water vapour pressure is higher may reduce the secondary haemorrhage rate.

Adolescent↗

The potential impacts of climate variability and change on health impacts of extreme weather events in the United States.

Extreme weather events such as precipitation extremes and severe storms cause hundreds of deaths and injuries annually in the United States. Climate change may alter the frequency, timing, intensity, and duration of these events. Increases in heavy precipitation have occurred over the past century. Future climate scenarios show likely increases in the frequency of extreme precipitation events, including precipitation during hurricanes, raising the risk of floods. Frequencies of tornadoes and hurricanes cannot reliably be projected. Injury and death are the direct health impacts most often associated with natural disasters. Secondary effects, mediated by changes in ecologic systems and public health infrastructure, also occur. The health impacts of extreme weather events hinge on the vulnerabilities and recovery capacities of the natural environment and the local population. Relevant variables include building codes, warning systems, disaster policies, evacuation plans, and relief efforts. There are many federal, state, and local government agencies and nongovernmental organizations involved in planning for and responding to natural disasters in the United States. Future research on health impacts of extreme weather events should focus on improving climate models to project any trends in regional extreme events and as a result improve public health preparedness and mitigation. Epidemiologic studies of health effects beyond the direct impacts of disaster will provide a more accurate measure of the full health impacts and will assist in planning and resource allocation.

Climate↗

Weatherwise: evaluation of a cue-based training approach for the recognition of deteriorating weather conditions during flight.

Inappropriate and ineffective weather-related decision making continues to account for a significant proportion of general aviation fatalities in the United States and elsewhere. This study details the evaluation of a computer-based training system that was developed to provide visual pilots with the skills necessary to recognize and respond to the cues associated with deteriorating weather conditions during flight. A total of 66 pilots were assigned to one of two groups, and the evaluation process was undertaken at both a self-report and performance level. At the self-report level, the results suggested that pilots were more likely to use the cues following exposure to the training program. From a performance perspective, there is evidence to suggest that cue-based training can improve the timeliness of weather-related decision making during visual flight rules flight. Actual or potential applications of this research include the development of computer-based training systems for fault diagnosis in complex industrial environments.

Accidents, Aviation↗

Heat or eat? Cold-weather shocks and nutrition in poor American families.

OBJECTIVES: The authors sought to determine the effects of cold-weather periods on budgets and nutritional outcomes among poor American families. METHODS: The Consumer Expenditure Survey was used to track expenditures on food and home fuels, and the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was used to track calorie consumption, dietary quality, vitamin deficiencies, and anemia. RESULTS: Both poor and richer families increased fuel expenditures in response to unusually cold weather. Poor families reduced food expenditures by roughly the same amount as their increase in fuel expenditures, whereas richer families increased food expenditures. CONCLUSIONS: Poor parents and their children spend less on and eat less food during cold-weather budgetary shocks. Existing social programs fail to buffer against these shocks.

Budgets↗

Relationship between work-related accidents and hot weather conditions in Tuscany (central Italy).

Nowadays, no studies have been published on the relationship between meteorological conditions and work-related mortality and morbidity in Italy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between hot weather conditions and hospital admissions due to work-related accidents in Tuscany (central Italy) over the period 1998-2003. Apparent temperature (AT) values were calculated to evaluate human weather discomfort due to hot conditions and then tested for work accident differences using non-parametric procedures. Present findings showed that hot weather conditions might represent a risk factor for work-related accidents in Italy during summer. In particular early warming days during June, characterized by heat discomfort, are less tolerated by workers than warming days of the following summer months. The peak of work-related accidents occurred on days characterized by high, but not extreme, thermal conditions. Workers maybe change their behaviour when heat stress increases, reducing risks by adopting preventive measures. Results suggested that days with an average daytime AT value ranged between 24.8 degrees C and 27.5 degrees C were at the highest risk of work-related accidents. In conclusion, present findings might represent the first step for the development of a watch/warning system for workers that might be used by employers for planning work activities.

Accidents, Occupational↗

[Impact of the weather on the serum levels of prostatic specific antigen (PSA)].

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the impact of season and weather parameters on serum PSA values in men without prostate cancer. METHODS: Retrospective study including medical records from the Spanish arm of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC). EXCLUSION CRITERIA: prostate cancer diagnosis, PSA > = 10 ng/ml, or PSA > = 3 ng/ml and/or digital rectal examination abnormalities unless a negative prostate biopsy was provided. Univariate relationships between PSA value, season and several weather parameters were assessed. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify independent predictors of a PSA value > = 3 ng/ml. RESULTS: A total of 2,147 men entered into the study. Median age and PSA level were 57 years and 0.9 ng/ml respectively. A non-significant trend to higher PSA levels was observed during autumn and winter. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified only maximum temperature (p < 0.001), minimum temperature (p = 0.001) and age (p < 0.001) as independent predictors of a PSA value > = 3 ng/ml. Mean age-adjusted PSA levels at maximum temperatures of < = 15 degrees C, 16-20 degrees C, 21-25 degrees C and > =26 degrees C were 1.25, 1.20, 1.17 and 1.09 ng/ml respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PSA levels are slightly higher during cold weather conditions. Because of the small magnitude of this PSA increment we do not recommend to change biopsy indication based solely on climatic parameters.

Aged↗

[Are emergency admissions to medical departments dependent on weather?].

BACKGROUND: It is widely believed that patients are more frequently admitted to hospital in bad weather. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We evaluated all 15,060 emergency admissions to the Medical Department of Rogaland Central Hospital during a 17-month period and compared this material with meteorological data. RESULTS: We found no correlation between the number of admissions and "good weather" (as defined by the amount of cloud cover), but we found a significant difference of about two more patients (6.6%) being admitted on days with rain and snow. There was no correlation between the amount of precipitation and the number of admitted patients, but a small, significant inverse relation between temperature and admissions. We have also demonstrated a considerable difference in the number of admissions on the different weekdays, with the highest number on Mondays and the lowest on Saturdays. INTERPRETATION: Both the incidence of disease and doctor availability may partially explain the influence of weather and the daily variation in emergency admissions to hospital.

Emergencies↗

[Relationship between sport injuries and weather].

There is an obvious dependence of skisport-accidents on weather influences. So called biologically favourable "Wetterphasen" (weather-phases) showed significant decrease and biologically unfavourable weatherphases an elevation of the accident rate. All results were checked statistically. The oncoming weather change showed itself especially burdensome when a low pressure area was approaching.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Effects of soil variability and weather conditions on pesticide leaching--a farm-level evaluation.

In line with European regulations, Dutch law imposes an environmental threshold of 0.1 microg L(-1) on pesticide concentrations in ground water. During registration, the risk of exceeding this threshold is assessed through simulations for one or a few standard scenarios that do not reflect spatial variability under field conditions. The introduction of precision agriculture, where soil variability is actively managed, can increase control over pesticide leaching. This study presents a step-wise evaluation of the effects of soil variability and weather conditions on pesticide leaching. The evaluation was conducted on a 100-ha arable farm and aimed at identifying opportunities for precision management. As a first step, a relative risk assessment identified pesticides presenting a relatively high risk to the environment. Second, the effect of weather conditions was analyzed through 20 years of simulations for three distinct soil profiles. Results were summarized in cumulative probability plots to provide a probabilistic characterization of historical weather data. The year matching 90% probability (1981) served as a reference to simulate pesticide leaching from 612 soil profiles. After interpolation, areas where concentrations exceeded the environmental threshold were identified. Out of a total of 19 pesticides, isoproturon [N-dimethyl-N'-(4-(1-methylethyl)phenyl)urea], metribuzin [4-amino-6-tert-butyl-3-(methylthio)-as-triazin-5(4H)-one], and bentazon [2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4(3H)-one, 3-isopropyl-, 2,2-dioxide] showed the highest risk for leaching. Leaching was strongly affected by soil variability at the within-field, field, and farm levels. Opportunities for precision management were apparent, but depended on the scale level at which environmental thresholds were implemented. When legislation is formulated in this issue, the presented step-wise evaluation can serve as a basis for identification and precision management of high-risk pesticides.

Agriculture↗

[Sensorimotor reactions in students of high school age during different types of the weather].

The neuro-dynamical characteristics of the higher nervous activity of senior pupils in different weather types were investigated. The group of practically healthy pupils was given tests on investigation of the speed of the simple sensomotorical reaction (SSR), sigma of the simple sensomotorical reaction (Sigma), the medial speed of the choice reaction (CR), the speed of the choice reaction for the right (CRR) and the left (CRL) hand. The study was conducted on the days with favorable, conditionally favorable and unfavorable medical-meteorological conditions. The results of the study of the neuro-dynamical characteristics of the higher nervous activity of senior pupils give the possibility to make a conclusion that they decrease as the weather conditions become worse. Senior school age is characterized by the improvement of the neuro-dynamical characteristics of the higher nervous activity. The girls of the senior school age have shown higher results in different weather types than the boys.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Assessment of the spatial heterogeneity of weathering rates in upland catchments using the sodium dominance index and its significance in integrated catchment management.

The sodium dominance index was developed to quantify weathering rates and critical loads in Scotland, where atmospheric aerosols of maritime origin dominate over biogeochemical weathering in providing base cation inputs to catchment soils and drainage waters. High sodium dominance in river or lake water indicates low weathering rate. Here, this concept is evaluated using intensive temporal and spatial sampling strategies in two substantial catchments, one in Scotland and the other in central England, with particular reference to detection of groundwater inputs, and to possible problems from road salting in the calibration. In the Dee network, the spatial distribution of sodium dominance reflects the distribution of soil parent material geology, but land use also influences the equations. It is postulated that road density, via winter road salting, influences the sodium dominance calibration in lowland agricultural areas. Although road salting can also be problematic in some upland areas, the index still can provide clear indication of the likely severity of acid flush events in remote upland streams. In the Etherow catchment, sodium dominance varies markedly, sometimes over relatively small distances, reflecting soil type distribution, the occurrence of ground-water inputs to streams, and the influence of water in tributaries above the sampling point.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

[The influence of weather conditions on the occurrence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation].

UNLABELLED: The effect of the changing weather conditions on the incidence of the paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) has not been documented before. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This analysis retrospectively assessed the influence of the weather conditions on 1153 PAF cases over the period of 10 years. The average age of the studied population was 64.9 +/- 9.2 years. There was 60% males in the group. The majority (84%) had an existing heart disease, the remaining part was diagnosed as the lone PAF. RESULTS: The following factors favoured the FAP occurrence: high air temperature (> 25 Centigrade) for more than 3 days, low temperature (< 8 Centigrade), water vapor pressure > 16.5 kPa, accelerated increase of the air pressure > 8hPa over 2 days. CONCLUSIONS: The following weather conditions such as: temperature, air humidity and pressure have a definite impact on the occurrence of the paroxysmal atrial fibrillation episodes in 87% of patients especially those with co-existing coronary heart disease, hypertension or older age.

Aged↗

[Effect of the weather on acute hospital admissions. Observations at a neurologic clinic].

In 1,286 acute admissions to a neurological department in 1987/88, the relationship between admission rate and the continuously recorded meteorological parameters air pressure, temperature, and humidity, together with their differences over 24 hours (previous day and next day), as well as subjective weather effects, were submitted to factor analysis. No correlation was found between admission rate and absolute meterological parameters, but there was a relationship between admission rate and 24-hour differences, which was age-dependent and decreased from younger to older patients. This was considered to show that in the elderly, the usual course of their disease is more decisive than any influences of the weather. This contrasts with the results of demoscopic polls that show an increase in weather-dependent complaints with age.

Adolescent↗