Impact of Ambient Temperature and Relative Humidity on the Incidence of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease in Wuhan, China

Jiayuan Hao, Zhiyi Yang, Wenwen Yang, Shuqiong Huang, Liqiao Tian, Zhongmin Zhu, Yuanan Lu, Hao Xiang and Suyang Liu
Additional contact information
Jiayuan Hao: Department of Global Health, School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, 115# Donghu Road, Wuhan 430071, China
Zhiyi Yang: Department of Global Health, School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, 115# Donghu Road, Wuhan 430071, China
Wenwen Yang: Hubei Provincial Center for Disease control and Prevention, Wuhan 430079, China
Shuqiong Huang: Hubei Provincial Center for Disease control and Prevention, Wuhan 430079, China
Liqiao Tian: State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
Zhongmin Zhu: State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
Yuanan Lu: Environmental Health Laboratory, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1960 East-West Rd, Biomed Bldg, D105, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Hao Xiang: Department of Global Health, School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, 115# Donghu Road, Wuhan 430071, China
Suyang Liu: Department of Global Health, School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, 115# Donghu Road, Wuhan 430071, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-14

Abstract: Background : Few studies have previously explored the relationship between hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) and meteorological factors with the effect modification of air pollution, and these studies had inconsistent findings. We therefore applied a time-series analysis assessing the effects of temperature and humidity on the incidence of HFMD in Wuhan, China to deepen our understanding of the relationship between meteorological factors and the risk of HFMD. Methods: Daily HFMD cases were retrieved from Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 1 February 2013 to 31 January 2017. Daily meteorological data including 24 h average temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, and atmospheric pressure were obtained from Hubei Meteorological Bureau. Data on Air pollution was collected from 10 national air-monitoring stations in Wuhan city. We adopted a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) combined with Poisson regression and time-series analysis to estimate the effects of temperature and relative humidity on the incidence HFMD. Results: We found that the association between temperature and HFMD incidence was non-linear, exhibiting an approximate “M” shape with two peaks occurring at 2.3 °C (RR = 1.760, 95% CI: 1.218–2.542) and 27.9 °C (RR = 1.945, 95% CI: 1.570–2.408), respectively. We observed an inverted “V” shape between relative humidity and HFMD. The risk of HFMD reached a maximum value at a relative humidity of 89.2% (RR = 1.553, 95% CI: 1.322–1.824). The largest delayed cumulative effects occurred at lag 6 for temperature and lag 13 for relative humidity. Conclusions: The non-linear relationship between meteorological factors and the incidence of HFMD on different lag days could be used in the early targeted warning system of infectious diseases, reducing the possible outbreaks and burdens of HFMD among sensitive populations.

Keywords: temperature; apparent temperature; relative humidity; HFMD; PM 2.5; DLNM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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