Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Feb:129:72-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2014.12.002. Epub 2014 Dec 17.

Triggering of stroke by ambient temperature variation: a case-crossover study in Maputo, Mozambique

Joana Gomes  1 , Albertino Damasceno  2 , Carla Carrilho  3 , Vitória Lobo  3 , Hélder Lopes  3 , Tavares Madede  3 , Pius Pravinrai  3 , Carla Silva-Matos  3 , Domingos Diogo  3 , Ana Azevedo  4 , Nuno Lunet  4
Affiliations

Triggering of stroke by ambient temperature variation: a case-crossover study in Maputo, Mozambique

Joana Gomes et al. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: The effect of ambient temperature as a stroke trigger is likely to differ by type of stroke and to depend on non-transient exposures that influence the risk of this outcome. We aimed to quantify the association between ambient temperature variation and stroke, according to clinical characteristics of the events, and other risk factors for stroke.

Methods: We conducted a case-crossover study based on a 1-year registry of the hospital admissions due to newly occurring ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke events in Maputo, Mozambique's capital city (N=593). The case-period was defined as the 7 days before the stroke event, which was compared to two control periods (14-21 days and 21-28 days before the event). We computed humidity- and precipitation-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) using conditional logistic regression.

Results: An association between minimum temperature declines higher than 2.4 °C in any two consecutive days in the previous week and the occurrence of stroke was observed only for first events (OR=1.43, 95%CI: 1.15-1.76). Stronger and statistically significant associations were observed for hemorrhagic stroke (OR=1.50, 95%CI: 1.07-2.09) and among subjects not exposed to risk factors, including smoking, high serum cholesterol or atrial fibrillation. No differences in the effect of temperature were found according to the patients' vital status 28 days after the event.

Conclusions: First stroke events, especially of the hemorrhagic type, were triggered by declines in the minimum temperature between consecutive days of the preceding week.

Keywords: Ambient temperature; Case-crossover; Mozambique; Stroke; Trigger.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Case (gray rectangle) and control-periods (white rectangles) used for the case-crossover analysis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Minimum temperature (monthly median) and maximum decline in minimum temperature between every two consecutive days in each 7-day period (monthly median), between August 1, 2005 and July 31, 2006.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rundek T, Sacco RL. Risk factor management to prevent first stroke. Neurol Clin. 2008;26:1007–45. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Straus SE, Majumdar SR, McAlister FA. New evidence for stroke prevention: scientific review. JAMA. 2002;288:1388–95. - PubMed
    1. Guiraud V, Amor MB, Mas JL, Touze E. Triggers of ischemic stroke: a systematic review. Stroke. 2010;41:2669–77. - PubMed
    1. Tofler GH, Muller JE. Triggering of acute cardiovascular disease and potential preventive strategies. Circulation. 2006;114:1863–72. - PubMed
    1. Coelho FM, Santos BF, Cendoroglo Neto M, Lisboa LF, Cypriano AS, Lopes TO, et al. Temperature variation in the 24 hours before the initial symptoms of stroke. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2010;68:242–5. - PubMed

Publication types