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. 2022 Jul 19:9:811237.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.811237. eCollection 2022.

The Effects of Ambient Temperature on Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Retrospective Study

Ping Wang  1   2 , Cai Chen  3   4 , Fanjie Liu  5 , Fan Bu  5 , Jianpeng An  5 , Hao Qin  5 , Qinghao Zhang  5 , Tao Wang  5 , Shengnan Cao  5 , Wei Li  4 , Bin Shi  5
Affiliations

The Effects of Ambient Temperature on Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Retrospective Study

Ping Wang et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Purpose: This article was designed to provide critical evidence into the relationship between ambient temperature and intensity of back pain in people with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

Methods: Data concerning patient's age, gender, diagnostic logout, admission time, discharge time, residence area, and work area (residence area and work area were used to ensure research area) from 2017 to 2019 were obtained from the Neck-Shoulder and Lumbocrural Pain Hospital in Jinan, China. A total of 1,450 hospitalization records were collected in total. The distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) was used to evaluate the relationship between lag-response and exposure to ambient temperature. Stratification was based on age and gender. Days 1, 5, 20, and 28 prior to admission were denoted as lags 0, 5, 20, and 28, respectively.

Results: An average daily temperature of 15-23°C reduced the risk of hospitalization the most in men. Conversely, temperatures <10°C drastically increased hospitalization in men, particularly in lags 0-5 and lags 20-28. Men aged between 40 and 50 years old showed less effect in pain sensation during ambient temperature.

Conclusion: High or low ambient temperature can increase the hospitalization risk of LDH, and sometimes, the temperature effect is delayed.

Keywords: ambient temperature; chronic disease; distributed lag linear and non-linear models; low back pain; lumbar disc herniation; unhealthy habits.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location of research area.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Descriptive results about hospitalization records. (A) The proportion of gender distribution among different age groups; (B) the proportion of chronic disease among whole amount; (C) the proportion of unhealthy habits among whole amount.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Three-dimensional lag–response curve of temperature [(A) whole; (B) men; (C) women]. RR, relative risk.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The effect of temperature on the hospitalization when lag day was on 28 [(A) whole; (B) men; (C) women]. RR, relative risk.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Contour plot of lag–response about temperature on hospitalization [(A) whole; (B) men; (C) women]. RR, relative risk.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The three-dimensional lag–response to temperature based on stratification of age [(A) age ≤ 30 group; (B) 30 < age ≤ 40 group; (C) 40 < age ≤ 50; (D) 50 < age ≤ 60; (E) 60 < age ≤ 70; (F) age > 70].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Contour plots of lag–response to temperature based on the age stratification [(A) age ≤ 30 group; (B) 30 < age ≤ 40 group; (C) 40 < age ≤ 50; (D) 50 < age ≤ 60; (E) 60 < age ≤ 70; (F) age > 70].
Figure 8
Figure 8
The effect of temperature on the hospitalization when lag day was on 28 [(A) age ≤ 30 group; (B) 30 < age ≤ 40 group; (C) 40 < age ≤ 50; (D) 50 < age ≤ 60; (E) 60 < age ≤ 70; (F) age > 70].
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