Association between weather conditions and rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Weather conditions have been suggested to influence the clinical manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but current evidence remains inconsistent. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the association between meteorological factors and RA disease activity.

PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to March 25, 2025. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data according to predefined criteria. A random-effects model was used to pool results. Meta-regression analyses were performed to explore potential sources of heterogeneity across studies. Publication bias was assessed using Egger's test, Begg's test, and funnel plots. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using a leave-one-out approach to examine the impact of each individual study on the pooled estimates.

A total of 16,503 records were identified through the literature search, of which eight studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results indicated no significant overall association between temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, or wind speed and RA pain. In addition, temperature was negatively correlated with TJC (pooled Fisher's Z = -0.08, 95 % CI -0.151 to -0.009, P = 0.028 < 0.05, summary r = -0.080, 95 % CI -0.150 to -0.009), and atmospheric pressure was negatively correlated with SJC (pooled Fisher's Z = -0.075, 95 % CI -0.115 to -0.036, P < 0.001, summary r = -0.075, 95 % CI -0.114 to -0.036), both with low heterogeneity. No other significant associations were observed.

Specific meteorological factors, temperature and atmospheric pressure, may modestly affect RA symptoms. These findings may contribute to individualized disease management and guide future research on environmental influences in autoimmune diseases.