Circadian and seasonal rhythms of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding in Beijing
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Tiekuan Du1, Matthew R Lewin, Houli Wang
1Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shuai-Fu-Yuan No 1, Dong-Cheng District, Beijing 100730, China.
Objective:
To investigate the circadian and seasonal patterns in the presentation of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB) in Beijing, China.
Methods:
Medical records of the Beijing Emergency Medical Service System (EMSS) for 1 August 2005 to 31 July 2007 were reviewed; all patients diagnosed with AUGIB were included in the study.
Results:
2580 patients were recorded in the EMSS system with a diagnosis of AUGIB during the study period. 1888 (73%) were male and 692 (27%) were female. Mean age was 53+/-20 years for male patients and 63+/-21 years for female patients. Significant differences in the presentation of AUGIB were noticed between seasons (p<0.001) and months (p<0.001). The number of cases in cold months (from December to April) was significantly higher than that in warm months (June to September). There was a significant circadian rhythm; there were fewer cases during daytime hours compared with night-time hours (p<0.001).
Conclusions:
The presentation of AUGIB in Beijing has a clear seasonal and circadian rhythm. Circadian and seasonal rhythms associated with AUGIB may aid in identifying modifiable risk factors in individuals and populations.
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