Relationship between synoptic weather type and emergency department visits for different types of pain across the Triang
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Relationship between synoptic weather type and emergency department visits for different types of pain across the Triangle region of North Carolina Christopher Elcik 1
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& Christopher M. Fuhrmann & Scott C. Sheridan & Andrew E. Mercer & Kathleen Sherman-Morris
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Received: 1 February 2020 / Revised: 29 June 2020 / Accepted: 30 June 2020 # ISB 2020
Abstract Many people around the world are impacted by some form of bodily pain. Outside factors, such as weather, are thought to help trigger pain, especially in those who have pain-related conditions. When it comes to human health and comfort, understanding the potential external factors that aide in triggering pain is essential. Identifying such factors makes prevention and treatment of pain more feasible. This study focused on how those who suffer from various pain-related conditions (fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and general back pain) are impacted by different synoptic weather types (i.e., air masses). Synoptic weather types and emergency department (ED) visits for pain in select central North Carolina counties were collected over a seven-year period to determine a potential relationship. Bootstrapped confidence intervals revealed that moist tropical weather types resulted in the highest number of ED visits for each of the conditions examined, while moist polar weather types often resulted in the fewest. The barometric pressure changes associated with transitional weather types, which are often associated with fronts, did not have any significant relationships with pain. Keywords Pain . Fibromyalgia . Arthritis . Synoptic classification, weather type, air mass . Emergency department
Introduction Pain can be experienced in many parts of the body including a person’s joints, muscles, and organs. Millions of people around the world suffer from some form of pain. In fact, in the USA alone, 45 million people each year seek medical attention for cerebral pain (Luciani 2015). Fibromyalgia and arthritis are two of the more common types of conditions that lead to pain in the body. Fibromyalgia causes widespread pain all over the body and affects approximately 2–4% of the world’s population (American College of Rheumatology 2017). People of all ages can be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, though women are four
* Christopher Elcik [email protected] 1
Department of Geography, University of Georgia, 210 Field Street Geography/Geology, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA
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Department of Geography, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
times more likely than men to suffer from this condition. Arthritis is the inflammation of a person’s joints and the symptoms include pain and stiffness. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most common types of arthritis, affecting more than 1.3 million Americans. Like fibromyalgia, RA disproportionately affects women (The American College of Rheumatology 2017). A person suffering from RA will have an immune system that incorrectly s
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