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. 2019 Jun 2:2019:3435103.
doi: 10.1155/2019/3435103. eCollection 2019.

Effects of Meteorological Factors on Hospitalizations in Adult Patients with Asthma: A Systematic Review

Elnaz Bodaghkhani  1 , Masoud Mahdavian  2 , Cameron MacLellan  3 , Alison Farrell  4 , Shabnam Asghari  5
Affiliations

Effects of Meteorological Factors on Hospitalizations in Adult Patients with Asthma: A Systematic Review

Elnaz Bodaghkhani et al. Can Respir J. .

Abstract

Background: Environmental factors such as weather variables contribute to asthma exacerbation. The impact of meteorological factors on asthma-related hospital admissions (HAs) or emergency department visits (EDVs) has been assessed in the literature. We conducted a systematic review to establish a conclusion of whether these findings from the literature are consistent and generalizable or if they vary significantly by certain subgroups.

Objective: This study aims to review the effect of meteorological variables on asthma HAs and EDVs in adults, to identify knowledge gaps and to highlight future research priorities.

Method: A systematic search was conducted in electronic databases such as PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL. All studies published in English were screened and included if they met the eligibility criteria. Two independent reviewers assessed the quality of the studies and extracted the data. The available evidence was summarized and presented using a harvest plot.

Results: Our initial search returned a total of 3887 articles. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts, 16 studies were included. Thirty-one percent of the included studies (5/16) found that temperature was the only factor associated with asthma hospitalization or EDVs. Six studies (37%) found that both temperature and relative humidity were associated with HAs. Four studies (25%) identified thunderstorms as a possible factor associated with asthma hospitalization in adults.

Conclusion: Our review suggests that HAs and EDVs due to asthma are associated with many meteorological factors. Among the articles included in this review, changing temperature is the most commonly studied variable. We did not find studies that measured barometric pressure, weather phenomena, or the effect of tornados. To develop effective strategies to protect subjects at risk, further studies are required.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Evidence for the effect of meteorological factors on hospitalization and EDVs among adults with asthma. The rows indicate the all meteorological variables that affect asthma-related admission which are studied in the literature, and three columns shows different effects of each exposure. The numbers on the top of each bar indicate the number of studies that investigate the effect of that variable and find the result. The length of each bar shows the quality (good, fair, and poor) of the studies. The colors of each indicate the increase or decrease effect of the variable.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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