title: Weather conditions may worsen symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis patients: the possible effect of temperature.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) complain that weather conditions aggravate their symptoms. We investigated the short-term effects of weather conditions on worsening of RA and determined possible seasonal fluctuations.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a case-crossover study in Madrid, Spain. Daily cases of RA flares were collected from the emergency room of a tertiary level hospital between 2004 and 2007.
  
  
  RESULTS
  245 RA patients who visited the emergency room 306 times due to RA related complaints as the main diagnostic reason were included in the study. Patients from 50 to 65 years old were 16% more likely to present a flare with lower mean temperatures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results support the belief that weather influences rheumatic pain in middle aged patients.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Unit, Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Abasolo
authors.forename: Aurelio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tobías
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.forename: Loreto
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carmona
authors.forename: Jose Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Rueda
authors.forename: Ana Belen
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Gutierrez
authors.forename: Juan Angel
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jover
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013696:Temperature; D014887:Weather
keywords: Artritis reumatoide; Condiciones meteorológicas; Rheumatoid arthritis; Temperatura; Temperature; Weather conditions