| Summary: | Background: Climatic conditions contribute to changes in red blood cells, thrombocyte count, and
blood pressure. In cold weather, blood viscosity increases, but increasing body temperature raises
coagulation factors. Also, plasma fibrinogen concentrations are higher in older patients. All of these
factors can contribute to the incidence of stroke.
Objectives: Our purpose was to assess the relationships between metrological factors and the rate
of stroke patients in the north of Iran.
Materials & Methods: We used a time-series analysis to investigate the association between
metrological factors and hospital admission of cerebrovascular events from 2014 to 2019 using
distributed lag nonlinear models.
Results: Hot temperature (≥34°C) was significantly associated with an increased risk of stroke
admission. In the general population, severe cold (≤0°C) was significantly related to the risk of stroke on
the third day after exposure (relative risk [RR]=1.017; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00%-1.035%).
Also, a low temperature of 7°C on 5-6 lag days was significantly associated with the risk of stroke. The
risk of stroke hospital admission was not significantly associated with low humidity. Humidity with a
low percentage (8%-9%) two days after exposure was significantly related to the risk of intracerebral
hemorrhage (RR=5.089; 95% CI, 1.002%-25.835% ) (RR=4.841; 95% CI, 1.014%-23.109%),
respectively.
Conclusion: The results show that hot and cold temperatures are associated with stroke admission,
and low humidity increases the risk of intracranial hemorrhage. This study suggests that changes in
meteorological variables can raise the risk of stroke and exacerbate the pathogenicity in vulnerable
people to these diseases.
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