title: The role of temperature in reported chickenpox cases from 2000 to 2011 in Japan.
abstract: Annual periodicities of reported chickenpox cases have been observed in several countries. Of these, Japan has reported a two-peaked, bimodal annual cycle of reported chickenpox cases. This study investigated the possible underlying association of the bimodal cycle observed in the surveillance data of reported chickenpox cases with the meteorological factors of temperature, relative humidity and rainfall. A time-series analysis consisting of the maximum entropy method spectral analysis and the least squares method was applied to the chickenpox data and meteorological data of 47 prefectures in Japan. In all of the power spectral densities for the 47 prefectures, the spectral lines were observed at the frequency positions corresponding to the 1-year and 6-month cycles. The optimum least squares fitting (LSF) curves calculated with the 1-year and 6-month cycles explained the underlying variation of the chickenpox data. The LSF curves reproduced the bimodal and unimodal cycles that were clearly observed in northern and southern Japan, respectively. The data suggest that the second peaks in the bimodal cycles in the reported chickenpox cases in Japan occurred at a temperature of approximately 8·5 °C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing,Tenshi College,Sapporo,Hokkaido,Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harigane
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene,Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine,Sapporo,Hokkaido,Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sumi
authors.affiliation: Center of Medical Education,Department of Admission,Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine,Sapporo,Hokkaido,Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mise
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene,Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine,Sapporo,Hokkaido,Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D011891:Rain; D012621:Seasons; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Chickenpox; seasonality; surveillance; temperature; time-series analysis