Abstract:

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is any association between weather variability and asthma admissions among children in Athens, Greece. Medical data were obtained from hospital registries of the three main Children's Hospitals in Athens during the 1978-2000 period; children were classified into two age groups: 0-4 and 5-14 years. The application of Generalized Linear Models with Poisson distribution revealed a significant relationship among asthma hospitalizations and the investigated parameters, especially for the children aged 0-4 years. Our findings showed that Hospital admissions for childhood asthma in Athens, Greece, is negatively correlated with discomfort index, air temperature and absolute humidity whereas there is a positive correlation with cooling power, relative humidity and wind speed. Copyright © 2008 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.

Notes:

Cited By :19Export Date: 2 November 2015CODEN: JOUADCorrespondence Address: Priftis, K.N.; Allergy-Pneumonology Department, Penteli Children's Hospital, 152 36 P. Penteli, Greece; email: kpriftis@otenet.grReferences: Marêtes, S.A.G., Balas, C.N., Bronchial asthma in the medical literature of Greek antiquity (1982) J Asthma, 19, pp. 263-269;Carey, M.J., Cordon, I., Asthma and meteorological conditions: Experience from Bermuda, an isolated island community (1986) Br Med J (Clin Res Ed), 293 (6551), pp. 843-844; Silber, J.H., Forecasting asthmatic wheezing using temperature velocity (1987) Pediatr Emerg Care, 3, pp. 31-37; Khot, A., Burn, R., Evans, N., Lenney, W., Storr, J., Biometeorological triggers in childhood asthma (1988) Clin Allergy, 18, pp. 351-358; Ivey, M.A., Simeon, D.T., Monteil, M.A., Meteorological variables are associated with acute asthma seasonal admissions to accident and emergency room facilities in Trinidat, West Indies (2003) Clin Exp Allergy, 33, pp. 1526-1530; Kashiwabara, K., Itonaga, K., Moroi, T., Airborne water droplets in mist or fog may affect nocturnal attacks in asthmatic children (2003) J Asthma, 40, pp. 405-411; Weiland, S.K., Hüsing, A., Strachan, D.P., Rzehak, P., Pearce, N., Climate and the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic eczema in children (2004) Occup Environ Med, 61, pp. 609-615; Koh, Y., Choi, I.S., Seasonal difference in the occurrence of exercise - Induced bronchospasm in asthmatics: Dependence on humidity (2002) Respiration, 69, pp. 38-45; Nastos, P.T., Paliatsos, A.G., Priftis, K.N., Kaldellis, J.K., Panagiotopoulou- Gartagani, P., Tapratzi-Potamianou, P., Zachariadi-Xypolita, A., Saxoni-Papageorgiou, P., The effect of weather types on the frequency of childhood asthma admissions in Athens, Greece (2006) Fresen Environ Bull, 15, pp. 936-942; Priftis, K., Paliatsos, A., Panagiotopoulou-Gartagani, P., Tapratzi-Potamianou, P., Zachariadi-Xypolita, A., Nicolaidou, P., Saxoni-Papageorgiou, P., Association of weather conditions with childhood asthma admissions in Athens (2006) Respiration, 73, pp. 783-790; Hashimoto, M., Fukuda, T., Shimizu, T., Watanabe, S., Watanuki, S., Eto, Y., Urashima, M., Influence of climate factors on emergency visits for childhood asthma attack (2004) Pediatr Int, 46, pp. 48-52; Goldstein IF. Weather patterns and asthma epidemics in New York City and New Orleans, U.S.A. Int J Biometeorol 1980; 24:329-339Philandras, C.M., Metaxas, D.A., Nastos, P.T., Climate variability and urbanization in Athens (1999) Theor Appl Climatol, 63, pp. 65-72; Matzarakis, A., Mayer, H., Another kind of environmental stress: Thermal stress (1996) WHO News, 18, pp. 7-10; Giles, B.D., Balafoutis, C.H., Maheras, P., Too hot for comfort: The heatwaves in Greece in 1987 and 1988 (1990) Int J Biometeorol, 34, pp. 98-104; Cena, M., Gregorczuk, M., Wojcik, G., Proba Wyznaczenia wzoru do obliczania ochladzania biometeorologiczenego warunkach klimatycznych Polski (An attempt of formula determinations for computation of biometeorological cooling power in Poland (1966) Roczniki Nauk Rolniczych, 119 D, pp. 33-38; Landsberg HE. The Assessment of Human Bioclimate, a Limited Review of Physical Parameters. World Meteorological Organization, Technical Note No. 123, WMO-No. 331, Geneva, 1972McGullagh, P., Nelder, J.A., (1997) Generalized Linear Models, , 2nd Edition, London: Chapman & Hall; Panagiotakos, D.B., Chrysohoou, C., Pitsavos, C., Nastos, P.T., Anadiotis, A., Tentolouris, C., Stefanadis, C., Paliatsos, A.G., Climatological variations in daily hospital admissions for acute coronary syndromes (2004) Int J Cardiol, 94, pp. 229-233; Nastos, P.T., Matzarakis, A., Weather impacts on respiratory infections in Athens, Greece (2006) Int J Biometeorol, 50, pp. 358-369; Priftis K, Anagnostakis J, Harokopos E, Orfanou I, Petraki M, Saxoni-Papageorgiou P. Time trends and seasonal variation in hospital admissions for childhood asthma in the Athens region of Greece: 1978-88. 1993; Thorax 48:1168-1169Crighton, E.J., Mamdani, M.M., Upshur, R.E.G., A population based time series analysis of asthma hospitalizations in Ontario, Canada: 1988 to 2000 (2001) BMC Health Serv Res, 1, p. 7; Grech, V., Balzan, M., Asciak, R.P., Buhagiar, A., Seasonal variations in hospital admissions for asthma in Malta (2002) J Asthma, 39, pp. 263-268; Berktas, B.M., Bircan, A., Effects of atmospheric sulphur dioxide and particulate matter concentrations on emergency room admissions due to asthma in Ankara (2003) Tuberk Toraks, 51, pp. 231-238; Kimes, D., Levine, E., Timmins, S., Weiss, S.R., Bollinger, M.E., Blaisdell, C., Temporal dynamics of emergency department and hospital admissions of pediatric asthmatics (2004) Environ Res, 94, pp. 7-17; Roberts, G., Hurley, C., Bush, A., Lack, G., Longitudinal study of grass pollen exposure, symptoms, and exhaled nitric oxide in childhood seasonal allergic asthma (2004) Thorax, 59, pp. 752-756; Garty, B.Z., Kosman, E., Ganor, E., Berger, V., Garty, L., Wietzen, T., Waisman, Y., Waisel, Y., Emergency room visits of asthmatic children, relation to air pollution, weather, and airborne allergens (1998) Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol, 81, pp. 563-570; Johnston, N.W., Johnston, S.L., Duncan, J.M., Greene, J.M., Kebadze, T., Keith, P.K., Roy, M., Sears, M.R., The September epidemic of asthma exacerbations in children: A search for etiology (2005) J Allergy Clin Immunol, 115, pp. 132-138; Gioulekas, D., Balafoutis, C., Damialis, A., Papakosta, D., Giouleka, G., Patakas, D., Fifteen years' record of airborne allergenic pollen and meteorological parameters in Thessaloniki, Greece (2004) Int J Biometeorol, 48, pp. 128-136; Hersoug, L.G., Viruses as the causative agent related to 'dampness' and the missing link between allergen exposure and onset of allergic disease (2005) Indoor Air, 15, pp. 363-366; Jalaludin, B.B., O'Toole, B.I., Leeder, S.R., Acute effects of urban ambient air pollution on respiratory symptoms, asthma medication use, and doctor visits for asthma in a cohort of Australian children (2004) Environ Res, 95, pp. 32-42; Fiedler, C.P., Effect of weather conditions on acute laryngotracheitis (1989) J Laryngol Otol, 103, pp. 187-190; Nicolai, T., Illi, S., von Mutius, E., Effect of dampness at home in childhood on bronchial hyperreactivity in adolescence (1998) Thorax, 53, pp. 1035-1040; Villeneuve, P.J., Leech, J., Bourque, D., Frequency of emergency room visits for childhood asthma in Ottawa, Canada: The role of weather (2005) Int J Biometeorol, 50, pp. 48-56; Slapke, J., Vucelic, B., Shut, C., Muller, S., The effect of climatic and meteorologic factors on bronchial hyperreactivity and the course of bronchial asthma diseases and their potential significance in asthma prevention: Hypotheses, methodologic approaches and initial results (1989) Zeitschrift fur Erkankungen der Atmungsorgane, 173, pp. 116-126; Stephen, W., Corbett, M.D., Asthma exacerbations during Santa Ana winds in southern California (1996) Wilderness Environ Med, 4, pp. 304-311; Yuksel, H., Tanac, R., Tez, E., Demir, E., Coker, M., Childhood asthma and atmospheric conditions (1996) Acta Paediatr Jpn, 38, pp. 606-610; Kashiwabara, K., Kohrogi, H., Ota, K., Moroi, T., High frequency of emergency room visits of asthmatic children on misty or foggy nights (2002) J Asthma, 39, pp. 711-717; D'Amato, G., Liccardi, G., Frenguelli, G., Thunderstorm-asthma and pollen allergy (2007) Allergy, 62, pp. 11-16; Nastos, P.T., Philandras, C.M., Repapis, C.C., Application of canonical analysis to air temperature and precipitation regimes over Greece (2002) Fresen Environ Bulletin, 11, pp. 488-493

Publisher's Version