Is high relative humidity associated with childhood hand, foot, and mouth disease in rural and urban areas?
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between relative humidity and childhood hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Hefei, China, and to explore whether the effect is different between urban and rural areas.


METHODS
Retrospective ecological study.


METHODS
A Poisson generalized linear model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model was used to examine the relationship between relative humidity and childhood HFMD in a temperate Chinese city during 2010-2012.


RESULTS
The effect of relative humidity on childhood HFMD increased above a humidity of 84%, with a 0.34% (95% CI: 0.23%-0.45%) increase of childhood HFMD per 1% increment of relative humidity. Notably, urban children, male children, and children aged 0-4 years appeared to be more vulnerable to the effect of relative humidity on HFMD.


CONCLUSIONS
This article study indicates that high relative humidity may trigger childhood HFMD in a temperate area, Hefei, particularly for those who are young and from urban areas.
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistic, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
H
H
Yang
Hefei Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hefei, China.
J
J
Wu
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistic, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
J
J
Cheng
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistic, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
X
X
Wang
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistic, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
L
L
Wen
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistic, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
K
K
Li
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistic, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China. Electronic address: suhong5151@sina.com.
H
H
Su
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D057231:Climate Change; D005260:Female; D006232:Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012107:Research Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012424:Rural Population; D013696:Temperature; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population
Climatic change; Hand, foot, and mouth disease; Relative humidity; Rural; Urban