Depradine C A, Lovell E H
Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, PO Box 130, Bridgetown, Barbados.
West Indian Med J. 2007 Oct;56(5):427-32.
Asthma is a chronic disease in Barbados with a mean of 10,348 cases per year. This study was undertaken to determine the demographic distribution of the asthmatic attacks, their relationship with several meteorological variables and to provide a predictive equation. The study used data on asthmatic attacks provided by the Accident and Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and meteorological data from the Barbados Meteorological Office and the Caribbean Institutefor Meteorology and Hydrology. The study found that the greatest number of asthmatic attacks occurred in children aged five years or younger, that there was an exponential decrease in asthmatic attacks with age, that the incidence was higher on the eastern side of the island and that there was a higher incidence in males than in females. The statistical analysis found the highest correlations with vapour pressure and a three-week lag relationship between vapour pressure and asthmatic attacks. A stepwise regression analysis provided a predictive equation.
哮喘在巴巴多斯是一种慢性病，平均每年有10348例病例。开展这项研究是为了确定哮喘发作的人口统计学分布、其与若干气象变量的关系，并提供一个预测方程。该研究使用了伊丽莎白女王医院急诊科提供的哮喘发作数据，以及巴巴多斯气象局和加勒比气象与水文研究所的气象数据。研究发现，哮喘发作次数最多的是五岁及以下儿童，哮喘发作次数随年龄呈指数下降，该岛东侧的发病率较高，且男性发病率高于女性。统计分析发现，与水汽压的相关性最高，且水汽压与哮喘发作之间存在三周的滞后关系。逐步回归分析提供了一个预测方程。
