Objective: To evaluate the influence of changes in the atmospheric state on the incidence of preterm delivery (PTD) and preterm premature rupture of membrane (PPROM).Study Design: The hospital records of PTD and/or PPROM over the year 1999 were reviewed. The current meteorological state was described by a set of parameters and their diurnal and seasonal variations. Multivariate analysis, time series approach and Poisson regression were used.Result: PTD occurrence was correlated with humidity and maximum temperature (P<0.01), its rise preceded their sharp variations by 3 days (P<0.01). PPROM was influenced by the variations in the weather state: desert heat wave arrival (P ¼ 0.093), strong winds, overall daily differences of humidity and temperature (all with P<0.05). Conclusion:The rates of PTD and PPROM are affected by an ensemble of meteorological variables, specific for each disorder. Obstetricians should be aware of the influence of unstable weather on PTD and PPROM rates, especially in the spring and autumn.

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the role of the concentration of solid air-suspended particles (SSP) in the incidence of mental disorders. The study is based on 1,871 cases, registered in the Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center (BS-MHC) at Ben-Gurion University (Israel) during a 16-month period from 2001 to 2002; 1,445 persons were hospitalized due to exacerbation of schizophrenia (ICD-10: F20-F29) and 426 after committing a suicide attempt using a variety of means as coded in the ICD-10 (ICD-10: X60-X84). Pearson and Spearman test correlations were used; the statistical significance was tested at p < 0.1. A significant correlation between variations of SSP number concentration (N C ) during eastern desert wind during early morning hours and number of suicide attempts, N SU , was found (ρ > 0.3, p < 0.05), whereas correlation between N C and N SU during western air streams (sea breeze) was not observed (p > 0.2). A trend towards positive correlation (ρ > 0.2, p < 0.1) between the N C and number of persons with exacerbation of schizophrenia as manifested in psychotic attack (N PS ) in periods with dominant eastern winds (4-9 am, local time) has been observed, while in the afternoon and evening hours (1-8 pm local time) with dominant western winds, N C and N PS are not correlated (p > 0.1). Obviously, concentration of SSP is not the one and only parameter of air pollution state determining meteorological-biological impact, involving incidence of mental disorders, although its role can scarcely be overstated. However, since it is one of the simplest measured parameters, it could be widely used and helpful in the daily struggle for human life comfort in semi-arid areas as well as urban and industrial surroundings, where air pollution reaches crucial values. This study may permit determination of the limits for different external factors, which do not overcome threshold values (without provoking avalanche situations), to single out the group of people at increased risk (with according degree of statistic probability), whose reactions to the weather violations can involve the outbreak of frustration points and prevent or alleviate detrimental mental effects.

The incidence of suicide attempts [Deliberate Self Harm (DSH); ICD-10: X60-X84] and psychotic attacks (PsA; ICD-10, F20-F29) in association with atmospheric states, typical for areas close to big deserts, was analyzed. A retrospective study is based on the 4,325 cases of DSH and PsA registered in the Mental Health Center (MHC) of Ben-Gurion University (Be'er-Sheva, Israel) during 2001-2003. Pearson and Spearman test correlations were used; the statistical significance was tested at p < 0.1. The influence of temperature and humidity on suicide attempts (N(SU)) and psychotic attacks (N(PS)) was weakly pronounced (p > 0.1). Correlation coefficients between N(SU) and N(PS) and speed WS of westerly wind reaches 0.3 (p < 0.05), while their dependence on easterly WS was weaker (p > 0.09). Variations in easterly wind direction WD influence N(SU) and N(PS) values (p < 0.04), but no corresponding correlation with westerly winds was found (p > 0.3). Obviously ,in transition areas located between different regions ,the main role of air streams in meteorological-biological impact can scarcely be exaggerated. An unstable balance in the internal state of a weather-sensitive person is disturbed when the atmospheric state is changed by specific desert winds, which can provoke significant perturbations in meteorological parameters. Results indicate the importance of wind direction, defining mainly the atmospheric situation in semi-arid areas: changes in direction of the easterly wind influence N(SU) and N(PS), while changes in WS are important for mental health under westerly air streams. Obviously, N(SU) and N(PS) are more affected by the disturbance of weather from its normal state, for a given season, to which the local population is accustomed, than by absolute values of meteorological parameters.

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BackgroundThe influence of the changes in atmospheric states, typical for areas close to big deserts, on general well-being of hypertensive persons was analyzed.MethodsUnder test was the group of 20 hypertensive weather-sensitive patients; their blood pressure, pulse rate and appearance of 4 symptoms of discomfort sensations: arthritic pain, unjustified anxiety, severe headache and inexplicable tiredness- were registered. Symptoms are classified in ICD-9 code (780–790) and scored on a 4-point scale. Results were defined as positive (no departure from the range of normal values) or problematic; the daily number of the latter results was collected under the name “pathological reactions” NPR if at least two of these 7 checked symptoms (of one patient) were outside the normal range. Comparison of the current weather conditions with their means, questioning of patients and repeated examinations are used to gain information. The data was analyzed employing the SAS statistical software. Pearson and Spearman correlations were used, applied on the best and worst days, when a minimum and a maximum of pathological changes NPR in the patients’ well-being were observed. The statistical significance was p < 0.05 in all cases.Results~1500 medical observations and verbal statements were registered in the Primary Care Clinic (Be’er-Sheva, Israel) during 2001–2002. No meaning correlation was found between NPR and absolute values of temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. Variations in wind speed WS and direction were expressed in blood pressure changes and in exacerbation of discomfort of various degrees. Unfavorable conditions correspond to days with dominant desert air streams and to high WS, when NPR reaches 85.7%; during the days with prevalent sea breeze NPR was ≤22.9%. The role of wind direction in NPR occurrence is prevalent when WS > 4 m·s-1. The Spearman test gives higher correlation than Pearson test (ρ ~ 0.14, p < 0.03 against ρ ~ 0.1, p < 0.04).ConclusionsNPR is more affected by the air streams than by absolute values of meteorological parameters. The method of this study might give to family doctors some additional tools to predict deterioration in general feelings of chronic patients and could be related to other health problems influenced by the meteorological environment.