Background: To investigate the correlation between temperature and testicular torsion in Jiaodong Peninsula which has temperate continental monsoon climate and is represented by Yantai and its surrounding areas.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted by reviewing clinical data of 292 patients who were admitted and surgically confirmed to have testicular torsion in the Yantai Yuhuangding hospital medical complex between January 1, 2009, and August 31, 2022. Male patients who underwent circumcision (foreskin) were allocated to the control group. Temperature data were obtained from the China Meteorological Data Service Center. Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test and one-way analysis of variance were employed to compare patient characteristics and climatic variables among the different groups. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to analyze the association between monthly average ambient temperature and monthly cumulative number of cases. Moreover, a logistic regression model was utilized to identify the independent factors of testicular torsion.
Results: The mean age of patients with testicular torsion was 16.8 years. The number of cases was the highest in autumn. The temperature was the highest in summer and the lowest in winter (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the temperature difference (TD) in autumn was the highest in the four seasons groups (p < 0.01). The patients were divided into the high TD and low TD groups according to the mean TD (7.62 ◦C) on the admission day. The high TD group had a higher number of patients than the low TD group, and the temperature was lower in the former group than in the latter group (p < 0.01). A roughly negative correlation was observed between ambient temperature and the number of cases (Pearson's r = -0.228, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.366 to -0.079, p = 0.003). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the independent risk factor for testicular torsion was TD on admission day (odds ratio, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.28-2.59; p < 0.001).
Conclusions: To some extent, external temperature can affect the body surface temperature of patients and then induce testicular torsion. We concluded that testicular torsion easily occurs in the season in which the temperature drops and the TD is high.
Keywords: body temperature; cold temperature; hot temperature; spermatic cord torsion; testicular torsion.
© 2023 The Author(s).