Do meteorological factors influence the occurrence of acute aortic dissection? A 10-year retrospective institutional study.

Objective: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between meteorological factors and the occurrence of aortic dissection.

Methods: The study included 282 consecutive patients who were admitted to our institute with acute aortic dissection over a 10-year period. The local meteorological data over the same period were analyzed.

Results: On the days with occurrences of acute aortic dissection, there were significant differences in the following factors: the minimum and maximum temperature (p < 0.0001), difference in the minimum and maximum temperature from the 10-year average, atmospheric pressure (p < 0.0001), and difference in atmospheric pressure between the day of occurrence and the previous day. Cut-off values were determined by ROC curve analysis. Univariate analyses identified the following factors as significant predictors of the occurrence of acute aortic dissection: minimum temperature < 4.0 °C (OR 2.42, p < 0.0001), maximum temperature < 15.1 °C (OR 2.23, p < 0.0001), atmospheric pressure > 1008.9 hPa (OR 1.75, p < 0.0001), difference between the minimum temperature and 10-year average < 0.3 °C, difference between the maximum temperature and 10-year average < 0.44 °C; and the difference in atmospheric pressure between the day of occurrence and the previous day > 0.4 hPa. However, the differences of the minimum and maximum temperatures from the 10-year average were the only factors that remained significant in the multivariate analysis. The minimum (R = 0.3055) and maximum temperatures (R = 0.4151) were weakly and moderately correlated, respectively, with the occurrence of acute aortic dissection.

Conclusion: Meteorological factors influenced the occurrence of acute aortic dissection. In particular, a minimum temperature of < 4 °C and maximum temperature difference from the 10-year average < 0.44 °C was identified as strong risk factors for the occurrence of acute aortic dissection.