A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Impact of Selected Meteorological Factors on COVID-19 Incidence in Southern Finland during 2020-2021




AuthorsHaga Lisa, Ruuhela Reija, Auranen Kari, Lakkala Kaisa, Heikkilä Anu, Gregow Hilppa

PublisherMDPI

Publication year2022

JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Journal name in sourceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Journal acronymINT J ENV RES PUB HE

Article number 13398

Volume19

Issue20

Number of pages14

eISSN1660-4601

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013398

Web address https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013398

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/177244217


Abstract

We modelled the impact of selected meteorological factors on the daily number of new cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa in southern Finland from August 2020 until May 2021. We applied a DLNM (distributed lag non-linear model) with and without various environmental and non-environmental confounding factors. The relationship between the daily mean temperature or absolute humidity and COVID-19 morbidity shows a non-linear dependency, with increased incidence of COVID-19 at low temperatures between 0 to -10 degrees C or at low absolute humidity (AH) values below 6 g/m3. However, the outcomes need to be interpreted with caution, because the associations found may be valid only for the study period in 2020-2021. Longer study periods are needed to investigate whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a seasonal pattern similar such as influenza and other viral respiratory infections. The influence of other non-environmental factors such as various mitigation measures are important to consider in future studies. Knowledge about associations between meteorological factors and COVID-19 can be useful information for policy makers and the education and health sector to predict and prepare for epidemic waves in the coming winters.


Downloadable publication

This is an electronic reprint of the original article.
This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail. Please cite the original version.





Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 14:13