Patients with Epididymo-Orchitis and Meteorological Impact in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.
Background. Epididymo-orchitis is a common infectious disease among men, especially men aged 20 to 39 years. The aim of this study was to analyze possible associations of various meteorological indicators on the incidence of epididymo-orchitis in Taiwan.Methods and Materials. This nationwide population-based study collected data on cases of epididymo-orchitis that were newly diagnosed from 2001 to 2013 in Taiwan. Monthly meteorological indicators, including average temperatures, humidity, rainfall, total rain days, and sunshine hours, were collected from the Central Weather Bureau of Taiwan. Data for a total of 7,233 patients with epididymo-orchitis were collected for this study.Results. The monthly incidence of epididymo-orchitis was positively correlated with temperature, rainfall, and sunshine hours. The average monthly temperature had a linear correlation with the incidence of epididymo-orchitis (ß = 0.11). The monthly average temperature is significantly related, with a positive linear correlation, to the incidence of epididymo-orchitis in Taiwan.Conclusion. This finding may constitute useful information in terms of helping physicians to distinguish between patients with epididymo-orchitis and testicular torsion in hot or cold weather.
Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Taoyuan General Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Jui-Ming
JM
Liu
Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Ying-Hsu
YH
Chang
Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Te-Wei
TW
Ho
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Fung-Wei
FW
Chang
Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
See-Tong
ST
Pang
Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; Biobank Management Center, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; Parasitology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ren-Jun
0000-0003-2877-9215
RJ
Hsu
Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Po-Hung
0000-0001-8245-4302
PH
Lin