Influência das Variações Climáticas na Ocorrência de Doenças das Vias Aéreas Superiores no Município de Monteiro – PB

The present study evaluated the effects of climatic variables (precipitation, mean air temperature and relative humidity) on the incidence of upper respiratory tract illnesses in the municipality of Monteiro – PB. The datasets of occurrence of hospitalizations for diseases of the upper respiratory tract (HDURT) in the municipality of Monteiro PB was obtained from the Department of the SUS - DATASUS, whose information can be found on the Ministry of Health website, for the period 2008 to 2012. The climate da ta (rainfall, average air temperature and relative humidity), also corresponding to the period from 2008 to 2012, were collected from the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) site, coming from automatic meteorological stations. The linear Spearman correlation was used to assess the degree of correlation between climate variables and the number of HDURT. The results showed that: a) the maximum values of the number of records HDURT occur during the autumn-winter (March to August) and minimum during the spring-summer (September to February), being lower in the year 2012 (drier year with rainfall below average) when compared to that summer of 2006 and 2008 (years with wetter summers). The climate variables showed a rainy season that extends from March to May, with rainfall less uniform variable and very weak correlation with the records of HDURT (R² = 0.119), with a peak in May. The monthly average air temperature showed low variability, being higher in the summer (December to March) and lower in the winter (June-August), with a minimum in July. The relative humidity was always lower in period of spring and early summer (September to December) and higher in the winter period (from June to August); c) The average number of monthly records of URTI was inversely correlated with air temperature (R² = 0.512) and showed a strong increasing / positive correlation with relative humidity (R² = 0.912).O presente estudo avaliou os efeitos das variáveis climáticas (precipitação pluvial, temperatura média do ar e umidade relativa do ar) na incidência de doenças relacionadas às vias aéreas superiores no município de Monteiro – PB. A correlação linear de Spearman foi utilizada na avaliação do grau de correlação entre as variáveis climáticas e o número de IVAS. Os resultados evidenciaram que: a) os valores máximos do número de registros de IVAS ocorrem no período do outono-inverno (março a agosto) e mínimos no período da primavera-verão (setembro a fevereiro); b) as variáveis climáticas evidenciaram uma estação chuvosa que se estende de março a maio, sendo a precipitação pluviométrica à variável menos uniforme e com correlação muito fraca com os registros de IVAS (R² = 0,119), com pico no mês de maio; c) O número médio mensal de registros de IVAS mostrou-se inversamente correlacionado com a temperatura do ar (R² = 0,512) e apresentou uma correlação crescente/positiva muito forte com a umidade relativa do ar (R² = 0,912)