Meteorological factors and risk of ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage: A time-stratified case-crossover study

Background: Stroke risks associated with rapid climate change remain controversial due to a paucity of evidence. Aims: To examine the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and ischemic stroke (IS) associated with meteorological parameters. Methods: In this time-stratified case-crossover study, adult patients hospitalized for their first stroke between 2011 and 2020 from the insurance claims data in Taiwan were identified. The hospitalization day was designated as the case period, and three or four control periods were matched by the same day of the week and month of each case period. Daily mean and 24-h variations in ambient temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, and apparent temperature were measured. Conditional logistic regression models were applied to assess the risk of stroke associated with exposure to weather variables, using the third quintile as a reference, controlling for air pollutant levels. Results: There were 7161 patients with SAH, 40,426 patients with ICH, and 107,550 patients with IS. There was an inverse linear relationship between mean daily temperature and apparent temperature with ICH. Elevated mean daily atmospheric pressure was associated with an increased risk of ICH. A greater decrease in apparent temperature over a 24-h period was associated with increased risk of ICH but decreased risk of IS (odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for the first vs. third quintile of changes in apparent temperature, 1.141 (1.053–1.237) and 0.946 (0.899–0.996), respectively). Conclusions: There were considerable differences in short-term associations between meteorological parameters and three main pathological types of strokes. Data access statement: The authors have no permission to share the data.