AUTHOR=Li Zhijin , Li Yanlu , Wang Xiaoning , Liu Guoliang , Hao Yanbin 

TITLE=Extreme temperature exposure and urolithiasis: A time series analysis in Ganzhou, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1075428

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.1075428

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: Ambient temperature change is a risk factor that cannot be ignored for the occurrence of urolithiasis. The association between temperature and urolithiasis varies from region to region. Our study aimed to analyze the impact of extreme high and low temperatures on the number of inpatients for urolithiasis and its lag effect in Ganzhou City of China. 
Methods: We collected the daily number of inpatients with urolithiasis in Ganzhou from 2018 to 2019 and the meteorological data for the same period. The exposure-response relationship between the daily mean temperature and the number of inpatients with urolithiasis was studied by distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM), and also the effect of extreme temperature was analyzed. Stratification analysis was performed for different gender and age groups populations.
Results: There were 38,184 hospitalizations for urolithiasis from 2018 to 2019 in Ganzhou. The exposure-response curve between the daily mean temperature and the number of inpatients with urolithiasis in Ganzhou was nonlinear and had observed lag effect. The warm effect (30.4°C) presented at lag2 and lag5-lag9 days, and the cold effect (2.9°C) presented at lag8 and lag3-lag4 days. The maximum cumulative warm effects at lag0-10 days (cumulative relative risk, CRR = 2.379, 95% CI: 1.771, 3.196), and the maximum cumulative cold effects at lag0-5 (CRR = 1.182, 95% CI: 1.054, 1.326). Men and people between the ages of 21 and 40 were more susceptible to extreme temperatures causing urolithiasis. 
Conclusion: Extreme temperature was correlated with a high risk of urolithiasis hospitalizations, and the warm effect had a longer duration than the cold effect. The prevention of urolithiasis and protection of vulnerable populations should be strengthened in extreme temperature environments.