Rhinitis risk associated with temperature variability in Henan: Comparative analysis of daily and hourly exposure...

The health impacts of temperature variations (TV) on rhinitis remains insufficiently understood. This study investigates the association between both TV_daily and TV_hourly (lag 0-7 days) and rhinitis-related outpatient visits. An individual time-stratified case-crossover design was applied, with stratified analyses by gender, age groups (≤17, 18-44, 45-60, ≥60 years), and seasons. A total of 58,717 rhinitis visits were recorded from 2013 to 2023. We found a significant positive correlation between TV and rhinitis visits, with the strongest effects observed for TV_daily0_4 (excess odds ratio [EOR]: 6.2 %, 95 %CI: 5.3 %,7.2 %) and TV_hourly0_3 (EOR:7.2 %, 95 % CI:5.8 %, 8.5 %). Males and children (≤17 years) were more vulnerable, and the effects was most pronounced in autumn (September-November). Additionally, short-term TV_hourly exhibited a stronger effect compared to TV_daily. Our findings provide robust evidence that exposure to short-term TV significantly increases the risk of rhinitis-related hospital visits, underscoring the need to incorporate TV into public health strategies to mitigating weather-related health risks.