Pain complaint and the weather: weather sensitivity and symptom complaints in chronic pain patients

Shutty, Michael S.; Cundiff, Gary; DeGood, Douglas E.

doi:10.1016/0304-3959(92)90143-y

Cited by 64 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Another possibility is that patients may tend to attribute their pain to the weather because of its prominence. 31 Alternatively, there may also be a tendency to a confirmatory bias stemming from anecdotal beliefs about pain and weather. 10 31 Weather sensitivity has been associated with the personality characteristics of the patient.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weather and the pain in fibromyalgia: are they related?

Fors

2002

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

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Objectives: To examine the association between fibromyalgic pain and weather to determine the nature of their interrelationship. Methods: The daily pain ratings of 55 female patients previously diagnosed with fibromyalgia were recorded on visual analogue scales (VAS) over 28 days. These ratings were then related to the official weather parameters and a composite weather variable using time series methodology. Effect sizes r were calculated from the t values and df. Results: A composite weather variable did not significantly predict changes in pain, either the same day (t=−1.15, df=1483, p=0.25) or on the next day (t=−1.55, df=1483, p=0.12)-that is, the weather was not a factor for changes in the subjective pain of FM. Patients' pain did not predict weather change in this sample, and neither same day (t=−0. 69, df=1483, p<0.49) nor previous day pain (t=−1.31, df=1483, p<0.19) predicted weather changes. A post hoc exploratory analysis showed that those with <10 years of fibromyalgia experienced significantly greater weather sensitivity to pain (t=− 2.73, df=389, p<0.006) than those with longer illness. Conclusion: A statistically significant relationship between fibromyalgic pain and the weather was not found in this sample, although it is possible that a group of patients with less chronic fibromyalgia might be weather sensitive.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weather and the pain in fibromyalgia: are they related?

Fors

2002

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

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“…There are a number of studies concerning WS related to conditions such as chronic pain (Jamison et al 1995;Shutty et al 1992), rheumatoid arthritis (Gorin et al 1999;Drane et al 1997;Hagglund et al 1994) or psychological impairments (Vadzyuk and Mikula 1997;Faust and Hole 1972). Some of these studies have demonstrated a relationship between weather conditions and the occurrence of industrial and car accidents, excluding trivial reasons such as icy ground or storms (Rauschhofer et al 1981;Jendritzky et al 1978).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Prevalence of weather sensitivity in Germany and Canada

et al. 2004

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Several studies have shown that atmospheric conditions can affect well-being or disease, and that some individuals seem to be more sensitive to weather than others. Since epidemiological data on the prevalence of weather-related health effects are lacking, two representative weather sensitivity (WS) surveys were conducted independently in Germany and Canada. The objectives of this paper are: (1) to identify the prevalence of WS in Germany and Canada, (2) to describe weather-related symptoms and the corresponding weather conditions, and (3) to compare the findings in the two countries. In Germany 1,064 citizens (age >16 years) were interviewed in January 2001, and in Canada 1,506 persons (age >18 years) were interviewed in January 1994. The results showed that 19.2% of the German population thought that weather affected their health "to a strong degree," 35.3% that weather had "some influence on their health" (sum of both = 54.5% weather sensitive), whereas the remaining 45.5% did not consider that weather had an effect on their health status. In Canada 61% of the respondents considered themselves to be sensitive to the weather. The highest prevalence of WS (high + some influence) in Germans was found in the age group older than 60 years (68%), which was almost identical in the Canadian population (69%). The highest frequencies of weather-related symptoms were reported in Germany for stormy weather (30%) and when it became colder (29%). In Canada mainly cold weather (46%), dampness (21%) and rain (20%) were considered to affect health more than other weather types. The most frequent symptoms reported in Germany were headache/migraine (61%), lethargy (47%), sleep disturbances (46%), fatigue (42%), joint pain (40%), irritation (31%), depression (27%), vertigo (26%), concentration problems (26%) and scar pain (23%). Canadian weather-sensitive persons reported colds (29%), psychological effects (28%) and painful joints, muscles or arthritis (10%). In Germany 32% of the weather-sensitive subjects reported themselves to be unable to do their regular work because of weather-related symptoms at least once in the previous year, and 22% of them several times. Co-morbidity was significantly higher in weather-sensitive subjects both in Germany and Canada. These results clearly showed the important impact of WS on public health and the economy. These findings prompted us to start studies on the causal factors of weather-related health effects.

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“…In the nineteenth century, several authors suggested that variations in barometric pressure, in particular, were partially responsible for variations in the intensity of arthritis pain (2)(3)(4). To the current day, such beliefs are common among patients, physicians, and interested observers throughout the world (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). Furthermore, these beliefs have led to recommendations that patients move to milder climates or spend time in a climate-controlled chamber to lessen joint pain (15)(16)(17).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

On the belief that arthritis pain is related to the weather.

Redelmeier

Tversky

1996

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

109

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There is a widespread and strongly held belief that arthritis pain is influenced by the weather; however, scientific studies have found no consistent association.We hypothesize that this belief results, in part at least, from people's tendency to perceive patterns where none exist. We studied patients (n = 18) for more than 1 year and found no statistically significant associations between their arthritis pain and the weather conditions implicated by each individual. We also found that college students (n = 97) (18,19), and studies using subjective measures of pain have been conflicting. Some find that an increase in barometric pressure tends to increase pain (20), others find that it tends to decrease pain (21), and others find no association (22,23 We next presented college students (n = 97) with pairs of sequences displayed graphically. The top sequence was said to represent a patient's daily arthritis pain over 1 month, and the bottom sequence was said to represent daily barometric pressure during the same month (Fig. 1)

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Pain complaint and the weather: weather sensitivity and symptom complaints in chronic pain patients

Cited by 64 publications

References 19 publications

Weather and the pain in fibromyalgia: are they related?

Weather and the pain in fibromyalgia: are they related?

Prevalence of weather sensitivity in Germany and Canada

On the belief that arthritis pain is related to the weather.

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