Objective This study aimed to assess the association between emergency-room visits for respiratory tract infection (RTI) with diurnal temperature range (DTR), a weather parameter closely associated with urbanizati...Objective This study aimed to assess the association between emergency-room visits for respiratory tract infection (RTI) with diurnal temperature range (DTR), a weather parameter closely associated with urbanization and global climate change. Methods We conducted a semiparametric time-series analysis to estimate the percentage increase in emergency-room visits for RTI associated with changes in DTR after adjustment for daily weather conditions (temperature and relative humidity) and outdoor air pollution. Results DTR was significantly associated with daily emergency-room visits for RTI. An increase of 1 ~C in the current-day (LO) and in the 2-day moving average (L01) DTR corresponded to a 0.94% [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.34%-1.55%] and 2.08% (95% CI, 1.24%-2.93%) increase in emergency-room visits for RTI, respectively. Conclusion DTR was associated with increased risk of RTI. More studies are needed to understand the impact of DTR on respiratory health.展开更多
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program (973 program) of China (2011CB503802)the Gong-Yi Program of China Ministry of Environmental Protection (201209008)the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-09-0314)
文摘Objective This study aimed to assess the association between emergency-room visits for respiratory tract infection (RTI) with diurnal temperature range (DTR), a weather parameter closely associated with urbanization and global climate change. Methods We conducted a semiparametric time-series analysis to estimate the percentage increase in emergency-room visits for RTI associated with changes in DTR after adjustment for daily weather conditions (temperature and relative humidity) and outdoor air pollution. Results DTR was significantly associated with daily emergency-room visits for RTI. An increase of 1 ~C in the current-day (LO) and in the 2-day moving average (L01) DTR corresponded to a 0.94% [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.34%-1.55%] and 2.08% (95% CI, 1.24%-2.93%) increase in emergency-room visits for RTI, respectively. Conclusion DTR was associated with increased risk of RTI. More studies are needed to understand the impact of DTR on respiratory health.