[Outbreaks of asthma attack and meteorological parameters--comparison between two areas].

ABSTRACT

The correlation between patient visits and meteorological parameters were analyzed regarding asthmatic children who visited the outpatient emergency clinics at Teikyo University Hospital in Tokyo and Ogaki Municipal Hospital in Gifu, during the two years of 1986 and 1987. The yearly climatological changes are quite similar in both areas. Moreover, variations in the number of patient visits were also remarkably similar in both areas. High temperatures and high vapor pressure significantly correlated with increased numbers of visits in both areas. High humidity and high barometric pressure had some correlation with increased numbers of visits in both areas. As for wind direction, northerly synoptic winds had a significant correlation with increased numbers of visits in Tokyo, while contrarily, southerly winds produced the same effect in Ogaki. Precipitation and cloud density showed no correlation with the number of patient visits in either area.