Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2023 Sep;280(9):3997-4007. doi: 10.1007/s00405-023-07894-1. Epub 2023 Mar 1.
Extreme weather events are rising due to the accelerating pace of climate change. These events impact human health and increase emergency room visits (EV) for many morbidities. Tinnitus is a common cause of EVs within otolaryngology in Germany and Austria. The effect of extreme weather conditions on tinnitus-related EVs is unknown.
A total of 526 tinnitus-related EVs at a tertiary care hospital in Vienna were identified. A distributed lag non-linear model with a maximum lag period of 14 days was fitted to investigate the immediate and delayed effect of single-day and prolonged (three-day) extreme atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, mean temperature, precipitation and mean wind speed on EV rates. Extreme conditions were defined as the 1st, 5th, 95th, and 99th percentile of the meteorological variables. Relative risk (RR) is defined as risk for tinnitus-related EVs at an extreme condition compared to the risk at the median weather condition. Cumulative RR (cRR) is the total cumulated EV risk for a given time period.
High relative humidity increased same-day RR for tinnitus-related EVs to 1.75. Both low and high atmospheric pressure raised cRR as early as three days after an event to a maximum of 3.24. Low temperatures mitigated cRR within 4 days, while high temperatures tended to increase risk. Prolonged precipitation reduced cRR within one day.
Extreme meteorological conditions are associated with tinnitus-related EV rates. Further investigation into potential causative links and underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is warranted.
由于气候变化的加速，极端天气事件不断增加。这些事件影响人类健康，并导致许多疾病急诊就诊次数增加。耳鸣是德国和奥地利耳鼻喉科急诊就诊的常见原因。极端天气条件对耳鸣相关急诊就诊的影响尚不清楚。
在维也纳的一家三级护理医院共确定了 526 例耳鸣相关急诊就诊。采用最大滞后期为 14 天的分布式滞后非线性模型，研究单日和持续（三天）极端大气压力、相对湿度、平均温度、降水和平均风速对急诊就诊率的即时和延迟影响。极端条件定义为气象变量的第 1、5、95 和 99 百分位数。相对风险 (RR) 定义为极端天气条件下耳鸣相关急诊就诊的风险与中位数天气条件下的风险之比。累积 RR (cRR) 是给定时间段内的总累积急诊就诊风险。
高相对湿度使耳鸣相关急诊就诊的当日 RR 增加到 1.75。低气压和高气压均在事件发生后三天内提高 cRR，最高可达 3.24。低温在四天内降低了 cRR，而高温则有增加风险的趋势。持续降水在一天内降低了 cRR。
极端气象条件与耳鸣相关急诊就诊率有关。需要进一步调查潜在的因果关系和潜在的病理生理机制。
