Influence of Latitude on the Prevalence of Kawasaki Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database and Review of the Literature

Chaw-Liang Chang, Chih-Shung Wong, Yi-Chen Yang and Nan-Chang Chiu
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Chaw-Liang Chang: Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30068, Taiwan
Chih-Shung Wong: Department of Anesthesiology, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei 10630, Taiwan
Yi-Chen Yang: Smart Healthcare Promotion Office, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
Nan-Chang Chiu: Department of Pediatrics, MacKay Children’s Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: Background: Countries at higher latitudes have higher incidence rates of Kawasaki disease (KD) than do countries at lower latitudes in the Asian and West Pacific area. However, the precise influence of latitude on KD incidence rates requires further clarification. Methods: We searched the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 to retrieve patients’ medical records from 1996 to 2009. The patients with KD were categorized as living in northern, middle, and southern Taiwan; the period prevalence of KD for each area was determined. Climate variables, including temperature, sunshine duration, precipitation, and relative humidity, were collected from the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau. The effect of latitude on the period KD prevalence and the correlation between climate variables and KD prevalence were calculated. Results: After patients without complete data excluded, a total of 61,830 children up to 10 years old were retrieved, from which 404 patients with KD were recognized. The period prevalence of KD increased significantly with latitude ( p = 0.0004). Climate variables associated with high temperature demonstrated a connection with KD prevalence; however, this correlation was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that higher latitude is associated with a higher KD prevalence in Taiwan.

Keywords: Kawasaki disease; latitude; climate; prevalence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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