Cloud cover and high temperature increase disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Inferences from a tropical setting.
Keywords:
Rainfall, Weather, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Temperature, Disease activity scoreAbstract
Abstract
Background: The effect of weather on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) activity is contentious. Most of the studies checking this effect have been done in temperate climates. The climate in tropical countries like India is distinctive and studying its effect on RA disease activity could provide unique insights.
Objectives: To prospectively study the effect of weather parameters on disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in tropical settings.
Methods: We studied the effect of weather parameters like minimum temperature, mean temperature, maximum temperature, humidity, cloud cover, atmospheric pressure and rainfall on RA disease activity scores 68, (DAS) in 907 patients over a follow up period of 61 months. The mean follow up was 32.24 (+/-14. 25) months.
Results: Multiple step wise linear regression was performed to assess influence of pressure, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, UV index, rainfall, humidity and clouds on DAS. Maximum temperature (Beta = 0 .665, p < .01) and clouds (Beta = 0.996, p < .01) had a significant direct while rainfall (Beta = -0.575, p < .05) had a significant inverse effect on DAS. Minimum temperature, UV index, humidity and pressure did not have any effect on RA disease activity. Overall model adjusted R² was 0.346.
Conclusion: After comparing with previous literature, we conclude that extremes of temperatures have deleterious effect of RA activity. In tropical climate, cloud cover increases RA activity, while rainfall reduces it.
Keywords: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Disease Activity Score 68 (DAS), rainfall, temperature, cloud cover, weather
References
Kalkstein LS, Valimont LS and KM (1987) Climate effects on human health. In Potentialeffects of future climate changes on forests and vegetation, agriculture, water resources, andhuman health. EPA Science and Advisory Committee Monograph no. 25389, 122-52.Washington D C: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Dequeuer J, Westered L (1986) The Effect of Biometeorological Factors on RitchieArticular Index and Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Journal Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology Volume 15
Smedslund G, Hagen KB (2010) Does rain really cause pain? A systematic review of the associations between weather factors and severity of pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis.Eur J Pain (1):5-10
Gorin AA, Smyth JM, Weisberg JN, Affleck G, Tennen H, Urrows, Stone AA. Rheumatoidarthritis patients show weather sensitivity in daily life, but the relationship is not clinicallysignificant
Eds, Lea, Feringer, Philadelphia, Hill DF “Climate and arthritis” in Arthritis and AlliedConditions: ATextbook of McCarty
Patberg WR (1997) Correlation of erythrocyte sedimentation rate and outdoor temperature
in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol
Abasoloa L, Tobíasb A, Leona L et al (2013) Weather conditions may worsen symptoms in
rheumatoid arthritis patients: The possible effect of temperature.Vol.9. Num.4 226-228.
Rehabil JE. Vaks1 K, Sjostrom R (2015) Rheumatoid arthritis patients’ experience of
climate care 11(6): 337–344
Mori H, Sawada T, Nishiyama S et al (2019) Influence of seasonal changes on disease
activity and distribution of affected joints in rheumatoid arthritis. BMC Musculoskeletal
Disorders 20(1): 30
Savage EM, McCormick D, McDonald S et al (2015) Does rheumatoid arthritis disease
activity correlate with weather conditions? RheumatolInt 35: 887–890.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-014-3161-5.
Smedslund G, Mowinckel P, Heiberg T, Kristian T, Kare K, Hagen B (2009) Arthritis
Care & Research Does the weather really matter? A cohort study of influences of weather
and solar conditions on daily variations of joint pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
(9): 1243-1247
Drane D, Berry G, Bieri D, McFarlane AC, Brooks P (1997) The association between
external weather conditions and pain and stiffness in women with rheumatoid arthritis. J
Rheumatol (7):1309-16
Mandl P, Alasti F, Kaltenberger R et al (2016) FRI0092 Influence of Temperature and
Humidity on Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
:460.
Aikman H (1997) The association between arthritis and the weather. Int J Biometeorol
(4):192-9
Strusberg I, Mendelberg RC, Serra HA, Strusberg AM (2002) Influence of weather
conditions on rheumatic pain. J Rheumatol 29:335-8
Guedj D, Weinberger A (1990) Effect of weather conditions in rheumatic diseases.
Annals of the Rheumatic Disease 49:158-159
Patberg WR, Risker JJ (2004) Weather effects in rheumatoid arthritis: from controversy to
consensus. A review The Journal of Rheumatology (7):1327-1334
Kumar A, Malaviya AN, Pandhi A, Singh R (2002) Validation of an Indian version of the
Health Assessment Questionnaire in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Rheumatology 41:
–1459
Morin C1, Bushnell MC (1998).Temporal and qualitative properties of cold pain and heat
pain: a psychophysical study 74(1): 67-73
Strigo IA, Carli F, Bushnell MC (2000) Effect of ambient temperature on human pain and
temperature perception. Anesthesiology 92(3): 699-707
Mirzakhani L, Poursafa P (2014) The Association between Depression and Climatic
Conditions in the Iran Way to Preventive of Depression. Int J Prev Med 5(8): 947–951
Reade S, Spencer K, Sergeant JC et al (2017) Cloudy with a Chance of Pain: Engagement
and Subsequent Attrition of Daily Data Entry in a Smartphone Pilot Study Tracking Weather,
Disease Severity, and Physical Activity in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis. JMIR
MhealthUhealth 5(3):e37
Simonsohn U (2007) Decision Making Clouds make nerds look good: field evidence of
the impact of incidental factors on decision making Behav Jour 20: 143-152
Jena A, Newhouse R, Olenski A, Molitor D, Miller N (2017) Association between rainfall
and diagnosis of joint or back pain: retrospective claims analysis. BMJ 2017: 359
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Bombay Hospital Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
