Air Pressure, Humidity and Stroke Occurrence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: An influence of climate upon stroke risk is biologically plausible and supported by epidemiological evidence. We aimed to determine whether air pressure (AP) and humidity are associated with hospital stroke admission. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, and GEOBASE, from inception to 16 October 2015 to identify relevant population-based observational studies. Where possible, data were pooled for meta-analysis with odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) by means of the random-effect method. RESULTS: We included 11 studies with a total of 314,385 patients. The effect of AP was varied across studies for ischemic stroke (IS) and subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Pooled ORs (95%CI) associated with 1 hPa increase in AP for the risk of IS, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and SAH were 1.00 (0.99-1.01), 1.01 (0.99-1.02) and 1.02 (0.97-1.07) respectively. The pooled ORs (95%CI) associated with 1 percent increase in humidity for the risk of IS and ICH were 1.00 (1.00-1.01) and 1.00 (0.99-1.01) respectively. CONCLUSION: This review shows that there is no evidence of a relationship between AP or humidity and the occurrence of hospital admission for stroke. Further research is needed to clarify the extent and nature of any relationship between AP, humidity and stroke in different geographical areas.