Meteorological factors associated with exacerbation of the disease and reduced quality of life in patients with respiratory disease

在夏季，我们的发现如下：首先，前一天的日最低温度（或日平均温度）与夜间（0:00 - 6:00）的高湿球温度（WBGT值为28℃或更高，即日本生物气象学会提出的中暑极端警戒级别）相关。其次，夜间最低WBGT值与接受长期氧疗的患者发生呼吸困难的风险增加有关。最后，病例交叉设计显示，COPD恶化与气象因素之间没有统计学上显著的关联，因为我们有少数因COPD恶化而住院的研究对象。

Our findings, in summer, were as follows: Firstly, daily minimum temperature (or daily average temperature) on previous day were associated with high wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT values of 28 degrees C or higher, i.e., level of extreme caution for heatstroke, proposed by Japanese Society of Biometeorology) during nighttime (from 0:00 to 6:00). Secondly, minimum WBGT values during nighttime were associated with an increased risk of having dyspnea in patients receiving long term oxygen therapy. Finally, case-crossover design showed no statistically significant association between COPD exacerbation and meteorological factors, because we had a small number of hospitalizations of study subjects for the exacerbation.