Warm Front Passage on the Previous Day Increased Ischemic Stroke Events

Ryo Shimomura; Naohisa Hosomi; Miwako Tsunematsu; Tomoya Mukai; Yoshimasa Sueda; Yutaka Shimoe; Tomohiko Ohshita; Tsuyoshi Torii; Tomohisa Nezu; Shiro Aoki; Masayuki Kakehashi; Masayasu Matsumoto; Hirofumi Maruyama; Hiroshima ‘Emergency and Weather’ Study-stroke collaborators

doi:10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2019.04.011

Warm Front Passage on the Previous Day Increased Ischemic Stroke Events

J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2019 Jul;28(7):1873-1878. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2019.04.011. Epub 2019 May 15.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Therapeutics, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan; Department of Neurology, Brain Attack Center Ota Memorial Hospital, Fukuyama, Japan.
² Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Therapeutics, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan; Department of Neurology, Brain Attack Center Ota Memorial Hospital, Fukuyama, Japan. Electronic address: hosomi@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.
³ Department of Health Informatics, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
⁴ Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Therapeutics, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan; Department of Neurology, Hiroshima Prefectural Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
⁵ Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Therapeutics, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan; Department of Neurology, National Hospital Organization Higashihiroshima Medical Center, Higashihiroshima, Japan.
⁶ Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Therapeutics, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
⁷ Department of Neurology, Suiseikai Kajikawa Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
⁸ Department of Neurology, National Hospital Organization Kure Medical Center, Kure, Japan.

PMID: 31103553
DOI: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2019.04.011

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.

Keywords: Meteorological conditions; epidemiology; stroke; weather front.

Publication types

Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Atmospheric Pressure
Brain Ischemia / diagnosis
Brain Ischemia / epidemiology*
Child
Female
Hot Temperature*
Humans
Incidence
Japan / epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Admission
Retrospective Studies
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Stroke / diagnosis
Stroke / epidemiology*
Time Factors
Young Adult