Is higher ambient temperature associated with acute appendicitis hospitalizations? A case-crossover study in Tongling, China.

Existing studies suggested that ambient temperature may affect the attack of acute appendicitis. However, the identification of the quantitative effect and vulnerable populations are still unknown. The purposes of this study were to quantify the impact of daily mean temperature on the hospitalization of acute appendicitis and clarify vulnerable groups, further guide targeted prevention of acute appendicitis in Tongling. Daily data of cases and meteorological factors were collected in Tongling, China, during 2015-2019. Time stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression model were used to evaluate the odds ratio (OR) of ambient temperature on hospitalizations for acute appendicitis. Stratified analyses were performed by sex, age, and marital status. The odds ratio (OR) of hospitalizations for acute appendicitis increased by 1.6% for per 1 ℃ rise in mean temperature at lag3[OR = 1.016, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.004-1.028]. In addition, our results suggest it is in the women that increased ambient temperature is more likely to contribute to acute appendicitis hospitalizations; we also found that the married are more susceptible to acute appendicitis hospitalizations due to increased ambient temperature than the unmarried; people in the 21-40 years old are more sensitive to ambient temperature than other age groups. The significant results of the differences between the subgroups indicate that the differences between the groups are all statistically significant. The elevated ambient temperatures increased the risk of hospitalizations for acute appendicitis. The females, married people, and patients aged 21-40 years old were more susceptible to ambient temperature. These findings suggest that more attention should be paid to the impact of high ambient temperature on acute appendicitis in the future.