Sir, the recent report on "extreme temperatures and paediatric
emergency" is very interesting
[1]. Xu et al. concluded that "children are at particular risk of a
variety of diseases which
might be triggered by extremely high temperatures [1]."Xu et al. also
mentioned for the effect
of climate change. In fact, Xu et al. reported a highly similar
publication in Occup Environ
Med and also noted for the effect of climate change on childhood illness
with special focus
on asthma [2]. The two works should share the same groups of patients but
the conclusion is
different. In the present report, Xu et al. make a conclusion that
"children aged 10-14 years
were more sensitive to both hot and cold effects [1]" whereas they
proposed that "children
aged 10-14 years were most vulnerable to cold effects [2]." This implies
that there are many
bias in both reports. Hence, it cannot conclude on any effects from hot
and cold temperature
on pediatric illness. In addition, not only temperature but also other
climatic factors can affect
the disease incidence. The good example is the effect of humidity [3],
pollutants [3] and
ozone levels [4].
References
1. Xu Z, Hu W, Su H, Turner LR, Ye X, Wang J, Tong S. Extreme
temperatures and
paediatric emergency department admissions. J Epidemiol Community Health.
2013
Nov 23. doi: 10.1136/jech-2013-202725. [Epub ahead of print]
2. Xu Z, Huang C, Hu W, Turner LR, Su H, Tong S. Extreme temperatures and
emergency department admissions for childhood asthma in Brisbane,
Australia.
Occup Environ Med. 2013 Oct;70(10):730-5.
3. Vandini S, Corvaglia L, Alessandroni R, Aquilano G, Marsico C, Spinelli
M, Lanari
M, Faldella G. Respiratory syncytial virus infection in infants and
correlation with
meteorological factors and air pollutants. Ital J Pediatr. 2013 Jan
11;39(1):1.
4. Jones GN, Sletten C, Mandry C, Brantley PJ. Ozone level effect on
respiratory illness:
an investigation of emergency department visits. South Med J. 1995
Oct;88(10):1049-
56.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
Sir, the recent report on "extreme temperatures and paediatric emergency" is very interesting [1]. Xu et al. concluded that "children are at particular risk of a variety of diseases which might be triggered by extremely high temperatures [1]."Xu et al. also mentioned for the effect of climate change. In fact, Xu et al. reported a highly similar publication in Occup Environ Med and also noted for the effect of climate change on childhood illness with special focus on asthma [2]. The two works should share the same groups of patients but the conclusion is different. In the present report, Xu et al. make a conclusion that "children aged 10-14 years were more sensitive to both hot and cold effects [1]" whereas they proposed that "children aged 10-14 years were most vulnerable to cold effects [2]." This implies that there are many bias in both reports. Hence, it cannot conclude on any effects from hot and cold temperature on pediatric illness. In addition, not only temperature but also other climatic factors can affect the disease incidence. The good example is the effect of humidity [3], pollutants [3] and ozone levels [4].
References
1. Xu Z, Hu W, Su H, Turner LR, Ye X, Wang J, Tong S. Extreme temperatures and paediatric emergency department admissions. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2013 Nov 23. doi: 10.1136/jech-2013-202725. [Epub ahead of print] 2. Xu Z, Huang C, Hu W, Turner LR, Su H, Tong S. Extreme temperatures and emergency department admissions for childhood asthma in Brisbane, Australia. Occup Environ Med. 2013 Oct;70(10):730-5. 3. Vandini S, Corvaglia L, Alessandroni R, Aquilano G, Marsico C, Spinelli M, Lanari M, Faldella G. Respiratory syncytial virus infection in infants and correlation with meteorological factors and air pollutants. Ital J Pediatr. 2013 Jan 11;39(1):1. 4. Jones GN, Sletten C, Mandry C, Brantley PJ. Ozone level effect on respiratory illness: an investigation of emergency department visits. South Med J. 1995 Oct;88(10):1049- 56.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared