DOI: 10.5176/2251-3833_GHC12.61
Authors: Chi-Ming Liu, Tsai-Ling Liu, Yiing-Jenq Chou, Pesus Chou, Nicole Huang and Chung-Te Hsu
Abstract: Many diseases are associated with seasonal variations, including abdominal diseases. Appendicitis is one of the most commonly encountered abdominal diseases that frequently require surgical procedures. This study aimed to examine the possible impacts and correlations of seasonal variations on the incidences of appendectomy by using the nationwide population-based datasets of Taiwan. Patients underwent appendectomy were identified and categorized into gender groups. Autoregression integrated moving average (ARIMA) multivariate models were applied to investigate the associations. A total of 285,707 patients undergoing appendectomy during 1996-2008 were included for analysis. Over the study period, an overall decreasing trend for appendectomy was observed. The highest seasonal incidence occurred in summer (July) and lowest in the winter, correlating with the cyclic pattern of temperature. Appendectomy was more common among the youngers aged ≤ 34 years. The incidences of appendectomy revealed clear seasonality and temperature was the most notable variable among the meteorological factors.
Keywords: Seasonality, appendicitis, appendectomy, autoregression integrated moving average (ARIMA)
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