Short-term effect of apparent temperature on daily hospitalizations for osteoporotic fractures in Beijing, China: A retrospective observational study

The impact of apparent temperature on the emergency visits for traumatic fractures in Hangzhou, China

BACKGROUND

Traumatic fractures occur frequently worldwide. However, research remains limited on the association between short-term exposure to temperature and traumatic fractures. This study aims to explore the impact of apparent temperature (AT) on emergency visits (EVs) due to traumatic fractures.

METHODS

Based on EVs data for traumatic fractures and the contemporary meteorological data, a generalized Poisson regression model along with a distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) were undertaken to determine the impact of AT on traumatic fracture EVs. Subgroup analysis by gender and age and sensitivity analysis were also performed.

RESULTS

A total of 25,094 EVs for traumatic fractures were included in the study. We observed a wide "J"-shaped relationship between AT and risk of traumatic fractures, with AT above 9.5 °C positively associated with EVs due to traumatic fractures. The heat effects became significant at cumulative lag 0-11 days, and the relative risk (RR) for moderate heat (95th percentile, 35.7 °C) and extreme heat (99.5th percentile, 38.8 °C) effect was 1.311 (95% CI: 1.132-1.518) and 1.418 (95% CI: 1.191-1.688) at cumulative lag 0-14 days, respectively. The cold effects were consistently non-significant on single or cumulative lag days across 0-14 days. The heat effects were higher among male and those aged 18-65 years old. The sensitivity analysis results remained robust.

CONCLUSION

Higher AT is associated with cumulative and delayed higher traumatic fracture EVs. The male and those aged 18-65 years are more susceptible to higher AT.

Exposure to low humidex increases the risk of hip fracture admissions in a subtropical coastal Chinese city

OBJECTIVE

The adverse impacts of meteorological factors on human health have attracted great attention. However, no studies have investigated the nonlinear effects of humidex on hip fractures (HF), particularly in middle-aged and older adults. This study aimed to quantify the impacts of humidex, a comprehensive index of temperature and relative humidity, on HF admissions.

METHODS

Daily HF admissions, meteorological variables and air pollutants in the subtropical coastal city of Shantou, China, from 2015 to 2020 were collected. A generalized linear regression model combined with a distributed lag nonlinear model was applied to explore the exposure-lag-response relationship between humidex and HF admissions. Subgroup analyses were also conducted by gender, age and season. Attributable fractions (AF) and attributable numbers (AN) were used to represent the burden of disease.

RESULTS

A total of 6200 HF admissions were identified during the study period. Taking the median humidex (31.9) as a reference, the single-day lag effects of low humidex (13, 2.5th percentile) were significant at lag 0 [relative risk (RR) = 1.145, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.041-1.259] to lag 2 (RR = 1.049, 95 % CI: 1.010-1.089). The cumulative lag effects of low humidex were significant at lag 0-0 (RR = 1.145, 95 % CI: 1.041-1.259) to lag 0-6 (RR = 1.258, 95 % CI: 1.010-1.567) and reached a maximum at lag 0-3 (RR = 1.330, 95 % CI: 1.113-1.590). High humidex (44, 97.5th percentile) was not associated with the risk of HF. Females and people over the age of 75 appeared to be more susceptible to low humidex. In addition, the adverse effects of low humidex were more pronounced in the cold season. The AF and AN of low humidex on HF admissions were 24.8 % (95 % CI: 10.2-37.1 %) and 1538, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Low humidex was associated with an increased risk of HF admissions. The government should take timely measures to prevent people from being exposed to low humidex to effectively reduce HF admissions.