[Are emergency admissions to medical departments dependent on weather?].

BACKGROUND

It is widely believed that patients are more frequently admitted to hospital in bad weather.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We evaluated all 15,060 emergency admissions to the Medical Department of Rogaland Central Hospital during a 17-month period and compared this material with meteorological data.

RESULTS

We found no correlation between the number of admissions and "good weather" (as defined by the amount of cloud cover), but we found a significant difference of about two more patients (6.6%) being admitted on days with rain and snow. There was no correlation between the amount of precipitation and the number of admitted patients, but a small, significant inverse relation between temperature and admissions. We have also demonstrated a considerable difference in the number of admissions on the different weekdays, with the highest number on Mondays and the lowest on Saturdays.

INTERPRETATION

Both the incidence of disease and doctor availability may partially explain the influence of weather and the daily variation in emergency admissions to hospital.