Asthma and Temperature Change

Weather patterns and asthma epidemics in New York City and New Orleans, U.S.A.

“…Working in NYC with emergency room visits as the index of asthma frequency, Greenburg et al (1964;1965;Greenburg and Field, I965) eoutd lind no associations between asthma and daily levels of sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen or smokeshade, although he found increases in frequencies of visits to the emergency room for asthma to be related to decreases in the temperature, specifically with onset of the first and second cold periods in the fall seasons (that is, periods requiring home heating). Pollen counts did not show any association with these asthma epidemics.…”

Time course of bronchoconstrictive response in asthmatic subjects to reduced temperature.

“…The controls showed a significant mean increase in urinary catecholamines after the stress, whereas those with asthma showed no significant increase. Strong statistical correlations have been demonstrated between cold weather fronts and asthmatic bronchoconstriction (Greenburg et al, 1966;Tromp, 1968). Furthermore, statistical data suggest that the distress may persist for a time after the meteorological change (Ramsey, 1976).…”

Epidemiology of Bronchitis and Emphysema

“…T h e s tu d e n ts w ith a h is to ry o f a sth m a a n d h a y fe v e r h a v e a h ig h e r fre q u e n c y o f d e rm a l re a c tio n , a n d th e p a tie n ts w ho h a d b e e n in v o lv e d in th e se ep iso d es h av e th e hig h est ra te s o f all. E p id e m ic a s th m a occurs in N ew Y o rk as well acco rd in g to Greenburg a n d F ield [26], w hose re p o rt in d ic a te s t h a t th e re has been no asso cia tio n w ith c o m m u n ity a ir p o llu tio n le v e ls; r a th e r th e a p p a re n t asso cia tio n is w ith a su d d e n o n set of cold w e a th e r.…”