Background Effect of meteorological factors such as air temperature, humidity, and sunlight exposure on transmission dynamics of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains controversial. We investigated the association of these factors on COVID-19 incidence in Japan.
Methods We analyzed data on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmed COVID-19 cases for each prefecture (total=47) in Japan and incidence rate was defined as the number of all reported cumulative cases from January 15 to March 17, 2020. Independent variables of each prefecture included three climatic variables (mean values of air temperature, relative humidity, and sunlight exposure), population elderly ratio, and the number of inbound travelers from China during February 2020. Multivariable-adjusted Poisson regression model was constructed to estimate COVID-19 incidence rate ratio (IRR) of independent variables.
Results There was a total of 702 cases during the study period in Japan (population=125, 900,000). Mean±standard deviation values of meteorological variables were 7.12°C±2.91°C for air temperature, 67.49%±7.63% for relative humidity, and 46.77±12.55% for sunlight exposure. Poisson regression model adjusted for climate variables showed significant association between the incidence and three climatic variables: IRR for air temperature 0.854 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.804–0.907; P<0.0001), relative humidity 0.904 (95% CI, 0.864–0.945; P<0.0001), and sunlight exposure 0.973 (95% CI, 0.951–0.997; P=0.026).
Conclusion Higher values of air temperature, relative humidity and sunlight exposure were associated with lower incidence of COVID-19. Public health interventions against COVID-19 epidemic in a country should be developed by considering these meteorological factors.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Effect of Long-Distance Domestic Travel Ban Policies in Japan on COVID-19 Outbreak Dynamics During Dominance of the Ancestral Strain: Ex Post Facto Retrospective Observation Study Junko Kurita, Yoshitaro Iwasaki Online Journal of Public Health Informatics.2024; 16: e44931. CrossRef
Improvement of the software for modeling the dynamics of epidemics and developing a user-friendly interface Igor Nesteruk Infectious Disease Modelling.2023; 8(3): 806. CrossRef
Background In hemodialysis patients, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) levels are affected by particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10). We conducted this study to determine whether there is an association between short- and long-term PM10 exposure and baPWV in apparently healthy adults aged 40 years and older.
Methods A total of 1,628 subjects who underwent health examinations between 2006 and 2009 were included in the study. On the basis of the day of medical screening, the 1–3-day and 365-day moving averages of PM10 concentrations were used to evaluate the association between short- and long-term exposure to PM10 and high baPWV (≥the third quartile of baPWV, 1,534 cm/s) using logistic regression models. Additional subgroup analyses were conducted according to age, sex, obesity (body mass index ≥25.0 kg/m2), and comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome.
Results No statistically significant associations were identified between short-term and long-term exposure to PM10 and baPWV in any of the subjects and subgroups. A 10-μg/m3 increase in the 2-day moving average of PM10 exposure was marginally associated with high baPWV in non-obese subjects (odds ratio, 1.059; P=0.058). This association in non-obese subjects was significantly different from that in obese subjects (P=0.038).
Conclusion This study did not show statistically significant associations between short-term and long-term exposure to PM10 and baPWV in apparently healthy subjects. With short-term exposure to PM10, non-obese subjects showed a marginally unfavorable association with baPWV. Further studies are necessary to validate and elucidate the mechanism underlying the effect of PM10 on baPWV.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Association between air pollutants and arterial stiffness in the general population: A systematic review and meta-analysis María José Rodríguez-Sánchez, Alicia Saz-Lara, Iván Cavero-Redondo, María José Díaz Valentín, María José Simón, Rosa María Fuentes Chacón Public Health.2025; 249: 106018. CrossRef
Long-term exposure to reduced specific-size ambient particulate matter and progression of arterial stiffness among Chinese adults Dankang Li, Shouling Wu, Linxi Tang, Shuohua Chen, Feipeng Cui, Yudiyang Ma, Run Liu, Jianing Wang, Yaohua Tian Journal of Hazardous Materials.2024; 466: 133482. CrossRef
Association between exposure to air pollution and arterial stiffness in participants with and without atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease Haoyu Zhang, Jinghao Sun, Yinghua Zhang, Keling Xiao, Yang Wang, Jin Si, Yan Li, Lijie Sun, Ting Zhao, Ming Yi, Xi Chu, Jing Li Clinical Research in Cardiology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Constituents and Vascular Damage in a Population with Metabolic Abnormality in China Lijin Lin, Huxiang Huang, Fang Lei, Tao Sun, Ze Chen, Kun Qin, Manyao Li, Yingying Hu, Xuewei Huang, Xingyuan Zhang, Peng Zhang, Xiao-Jing Zhang, Zhi-Gang She, Jingjing Cai, Shujuan Yang, Peng Jia, Hongliang Li Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis.2023; 30(11): 1552. CrossRef
First
Prev
