Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 5, 2026

A Method of Trigonometric Modelling of Seasonal Variation Demonstrated with Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Data
Published on: December 9, 2015
Association between rainfall and readmissions of rheumatoid arthritis patients: a time-stratified case-crossover
Jingui Xie1,2, Yongjian Zhu2, Yiming Fan3
1The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
It has been reported that local weather is associated with the symptoms of joint pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and many people believe their pain becomes worse when facing rainy days. However, limited studies explored the effects of weather on RA patients' healthcare-seeking behavior. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between rainfall and readmission behavior of patients with RA in Hefei, China, based on hospitalization data from the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine from May 2012 to June 2016 and weather data from National Meteorological Information Center during the same study period. Using a time-stratified case-crossover study design and conditional logistic regression, we found a negative association between current day rainfall and readmission (unadjusted: OR = 0.82, p < 0.05; adjusted: OR = 0.83, p < 0.1), which is contrary to our common belief. In lagged models, we observed that rainfall was significantly and positively associated with readmissions at lag 6 days (unadjusted: OR = 1.12, p < 0.1; adjusted: OR = 1.17, p < 0.05) and lag 7 days (unadjusted: OR = 1.13, p < 0.05; adjusted: OR = 1.21, p < 0.01). Additionally, stratified analyses showed the unanticipated finding was only statistically significant for younger patients (< 65 years) and females. Our study adds new evidence that the association between the healthcare-seeking behavior of patients with RA and local rainfall may be different, compared with the positive relationship between symptoms of joint pain and rainfall.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway
Crossover Experiments
Crossover designs are performed even with smaller sample sizes since the samples can act as their controls. These are better than simple randomized trials since patients are exposed to all the treatments.
Rheumatic Heart Disease II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
Comparing the Survival Analysis of Two or More Groups
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...

