The Association between Weather and Emergency Department Visitation for Diabetes in Roanoke, Virginia

The association between climate and emergency department visits for renal and urinary disease in Charlottesville, Virginia

Diseases of the kidney and urinary tract impose a significant portion of the total disease burden, and linkages to high temperature exposure suggest that this burden may increase in the near future. We examined the association between climate and daily emergency department (ED) visits for kidney and urinary disease at the University of Virginia main hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia from 2005 to 2020. Generalized additive models and distributed lag nonlinear models were used to examine these associations over a 21-day lag period. After testing a variety of weather variables from observations taken at the Charlottesville, Albemarle County Airport weather station, 1 p.m. temperature was found to have the strongest association with ED visits for renal and urinary visits while controlling for seasonal and trend factors, air quality, day of the week, and wintry weather. The relative risk of ED visits exhibited a stronger association with high temperatures compared to low temperatures. The heat response was pronounced at short lags (0-1 days) with the relative risk (RR) increasing when 1 p.m. temperatures exceeded 20°C and peaking at 29°C (RR = 1.28). By comparison, low temperatures (≤0°C) exhibited a negative association (RR = 0.80 at -10°C) at short lags (0-1 day), with evidence of a weak RR increase at lags of 2-3 and 9-14 days. These results for ED visitation are consistent with other studies linking high temperatures to acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, the development of kidney stones, and other associated illnesses. A better understanding of the impact of temperature extremes in generating or exacerbating existing conditions could assist medical health professionals in the prevention and management of these diseases during extreme weather events.

Meteorological extremes and their impact on tinnitus-related emergency room visits: a time-series analysis

PURPOSE

Extreme weather events are rising due to the accelerating pace of climate change. These events impact human health and increase emergency room visits (EV) for many morbidities. Tinnitus is a common cause of EVs within otolaryngology in Germany and Austria. The effect of extreme weather conditions on tinnitus-related EVs is unknown.

METHODS

A total of 526 tinnitus-related EVs at a tertiary care hospital in Vienna were identified. A distributed lag non-linear model with a maximum lag period of 14 days was fitted to investigate the immediate and delayed effect of single-day and prolonged (three-day) extreme atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, mean temperature, precipitation and mean wind speed on EV rates. Extreme conditions were defined as the 1st, 5th, 95th, and 99th percentile of the meteorological variables. Relative risk (RR) is defined as risk for tinnitus-related EVs at an extreme condition compared to the risk at the median weather condition. Cumulative RR (cRR) is the total cumulated EV risk for a given time period.

RESULTS

High relative humidity increased same-day RR for tinnitus-related EVs to 1.75. Both low and high atmospheric pressure raised cRR as early as three days after an event to a maximum of 3.24. Low temperatures mitigated cRR within 4 days, while high temperatures tended to increase risk. Prolonged precipitation reduced cRR within one day.

CONCLUSION

Extreme meteorological conditions are associated with tinnitus-related EV rates. Further investigation into potential causative links and underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is warranted.