Matthew E. Falagas,1,2,3 MD, MSc, DSc, George Peppas,1,4 MD, PhD, Dimitrios K. Matthaiou,1 MD,Drosos E. Karageorgopoulos,1 MD, Nikolas Karalis,5 George Theocharis,4 MD

Background

Several respiratory tract infectious diseases have a seasonal variation. We examined whether lower urinary tract infections (LUTIs) are associated with meteorological parameters.

Methods

We retrospectively examined the correlation of the weekly percentage of house call visits for LUTIs (relatively to all house call visits excluding those for respiratory tract infections), performed by “SOS Doctors” specialized physicians in Attica, Greece (1/11/2000-18/1/2005), with the average weekly temperature and humidity, recorded at the same area, 3 days earlier. Diagnoses were reached on the basis of clinical criteria, with the additional use of simple bedside tests, at the physicians’ discretion.

Results

Table 1. Correlation between weekly percentage of house call visits for urinary tract infections and average weekly meteorological variables.

Three thousand two hundred and twenty-one visits for LUTIs were recorded in patients of 62.9±21.0 years of age. House call visits for LUTIs, as defined above, correlated with average weekly temperature (Spearman’s rho +0.468) and humidity (Spearman’s rho -0.394); also if respiratory tract infections were not excluded from the calculations (Spearman’s rho +0.491 and -0.406, respectively); or if a 2-day lag between measurements was used (Spearman’s rho +0.468 and -0.386, respectively). All findings were significant (p<0.001).

Conclusions

In a population that consisted mainly of patients of advanced age, higher temperature and decreased humidity are associated with an increase in house call visits for LUTIs. The awareness of this association may facilitate preventive public health strategies.