Effects of ambient temperature, humidity, and other meteorological variables on hospital admissions for angina pectoris

Seasonal peaks in cardiovascular disease incidence have been widely reported, suggesting weather has a role.

Design The aim of our study was to determine the influence of climatic variables on angina pectoris hospital admissions.

We correlated the daily number of angina cases admitted to a western Sicilian hospital over a period of 12 years and local weather conditions (temperature, humidity, wind force and direction, precipitation, sunny hours and atmospheric pressure) on a day-to-day basis. A total of 2459 consecutive patients were admitted over the period 1987–1998 (1562 men, 867 women; M/F – 1:8).

A seasonal variation was found with a noticeable winter peak. The results of Multivariate Poisson analysis showed a significant association between the daily number of angina hospital admission, temperature, and humidity. Significant incidence relative ratios (95% confidence intervals/measure unit) were, in males, 0.988 (0.980–0.996) (p = 0.004) for minimal temperature, 0.990 (0.984–0.996) (p = 0.001) for maximal humidity, and 1.002 (1.000–1.004) (p = 0.045) for minimal humidity. The corresponding values in females were 0.973 (0.951–0.995) (p < 0.017) for maximal temperature and 1.024 (1.001–1.048) (p = 0.037) for minimal temperature.

Environmental temperature and humidity may play an important role in the pathogenesis of angina, although it seems different according to the gender. These data may help to understand the mechanisms that trigger ischemic events and to better organize hospital assistance throughout the year.