Influence of meteorological factors on the seasonal onset of esophagogastric variceal bleeding

Abstract

<p style="text-align:justify;"> <span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;">Purpose: To investigate the influence of meteorological factors on the esophagogastric variceal bleeding. The rhythmicity and variation mechanism of the onset of esophagogastric variceal bleeding were determined by large sample study. Methods: 572 patients with esophagogastric variceal bleeding confirmed by endoscopy were enrolled in the study, and the gender, age, onset date and Child-Pugh grading of liver function were recorded, the meteorological data were provided by the Shiyan Meteorological Bureau, which included temperature, air pressure, air speed, precipitation, sunshine duration and so on. Results: The onset numbers in the four seasons were 130, 122, 144 and 176, respectively, and differences of the onset number in different seasons were significant (X</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;">2</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;"> = 11.888, p = 0.008), and the onset number in winter reached to maximum, while it decreased to minimum in summer. The results of Child-Pugh grading were </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;">as follows: Grade A 113 (19.8%), Grade B 234 (40.9%), </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;">and Grade C 225 (39.3%). There was no significance among the different grades by crosstabs analysis (X</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;">2</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;"> = 4.463, p = 0.107). The Spearman correlation analysis concluded the result of (r > 0 and p < 0.01) in the air pressure (mean, maximal and minimal), daily mean temperature, ten days’ air pressure (mean, daily difference, maximal, minimal and range), ten days’ temperature range on the onset day, while the result of (r < 0 and p < 0.01) in the daily maximal temperature, daily minimal temperature, ten days’ temperature (mean, maximal and minimal) and ten days’ ≥0</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;">?C</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;"> accumulated temperature. The p value was more than0.01 inthe other factors. Conclusion: The onset of esophagogastric variceal bleeding was rhythmical, which rose to the maximum in winter and </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;">decreased to minimum in summer. The onset of the disease correlated positively with daily air pressure (mean, maximal, minimal), daily mean temperature, ten days’ air pressure (mean, daily difference, maximal, minimal and range) and ten days’ temperature range, and correlated negatively with daily maximal temperature, daily minimal temperature, ten days’ temperature (mean, maximal and minimal) and ten days’ ≥0</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;">°C</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;"> accumulated temperature, and had no relationship with other factors. The mechanism of the onset may associate with the increase of portal venous flow through vasoconstriction induced by chill factors....

Low air temperature increases the risk of oesophageal variceal bleeding: a population and hospital‐based case‐crossover study in Taiwan

“…This study showed that the winter season was associated with the highest risk for EVB in the NHI‐EVB cohort, particularly in February. The winter‐ predominant pattern of EVB in this study was consistent to Turkish , Taiwanese , Japanese , French Tunisia and Chinese studies. In Tahri's study, the seasonal distribution of EVB showed the highest percentage during winter, OR = 3.2 (95% IC = 1.6–6.54) .…”

“…Oesophageal variceal bleeding has been found to occur predominantly in the winter season; however, not all patients are believed to be susceptible to this seasonal effect . Moreover, Normura et al .…”

“…The seasonal variations in EVB have been still controversial (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). It is mostly believed that EVB occurs with seasonal variation, predominantly during the winter (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13) or spring season (14). In contrast, only two studies in Spain and Japan concluded there was no seasonal fluctuation of EVB (15,16).…”

Weekly pattern of emergency room admissions for peptic ulcers: A population-based study

“…Numerous studies have investigated diurnal, weekly, or seasonal variations in the onset of different diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases [7,[22][23][24] , cerebrovascular diseases [25,26] , and psychiatric disorders [27][28][29] , as well as complicated (including hemorrhage and perforation) and uncomplicated PUs [8][9][10][11] , for which the highest incidences are in winter. This seasonal fluctuation of PU may be affected by several factors, including climatic factors [30] , increased intake of NSAIDs in winter [31] , significantly increased number of H. pylori infections in winter [32] , and variations in alcohol consumption [33] .…”

“…An Italian study shows that the number of PU cases is lower in summer than in winter, spring, or autumn [7] . Studies from China and Japan also report that cases of hemorrhage caused by PU increase during the winter and decrease during summer [8][9][10] . Furthermore, researchers in Turkey have observed a peak in the number of PU incidences in winter, consistent with findings of previous studies [11] .…”