Barometric Change and Cooler Temperatures Do Affect Joint Pain

[Guest guest]

I wonder how much money was spent telling us that the weather does affect

joint pain. Any one of the people with JRA could have told them that for for

free.

[Guest guest]

>

> Barometric Change and Cooler Temperatures Do Affect

> Joint Pain

>

> Source: Hospital for Special Surgery

> <http://www.rheumatology.org/annual>

> http://www.rheumatology.org/annual

>

> By comparing two sets of independently collected

> data, experts finally

> have been able to substantiate that changes in

> barometric pressure and

> temperature really do cause aches and pains for

> arthritis sufferers,

> according to research.

>

> Newswise " By comparing two sets of independently

> collected data,

> experts finally have been able to substantiate that

> changes in

> barometric pressure and temperature really do cause

> aches and pains

> for arthritis sufferers, according to research

> presented this week at

> the American College of Rheumatology Annual

> Scientific Meeting in San

> , Texas.

>

> To date, studies of weather influences on rheumatic

> symptoms have

> generated widely inconsistent results. However, by

> merging data

> collected from an Online Glucosamine Trial (a large

> scale study of an

> over-the-counter arthritis treatment) with National

> Oceanic and

> Atmospheric Administration data, researchers were

> able to utilize the

> two unbiased information banks to compare the

> influence of changes in

> barometric pressure and surrounding air temperature

> on patients with

> knee arthritis.

>

> The Online Glucosamine Trial, conducted across 41

> U.S. states between

> 2000 and 2002, tracked 205 arthritis patients,

> average age 60.2 years,

> in three-month online randomized controlled trials.

> Only after

> completion of the two-year OGT study did researchers

> begin to consider

> weather as an issue. To determine if the weather

> really does affect

> joint pain, researchers first identified the nearest

> weather station

> by zip code for each of the OGT participants. They

> then merged daily

> weather parameters from the National Oceanic and

> Atmospheric

> Administration on temperature, barometric pressure,

> precipitation and

> dew point specific to each participant's location

> for the three months

> participants logged. Average values were computed

> over one, three and

> seven days prior to each participant's report of

> pain as well as

> change in each measure in the 24 hours prior to pain

> reports. The

> results showed changes in barometric pressure have a

> very strong

> association with increases in knee pain. Cooler

> temperatures were also

> consistently, albeit weakly associated with

> increased pain. No

> significant associations were found with dew point

> or precipitation.

>

> " People have such strong convictions about

> influences of the weather

> on arthritis that studies of this question can

> suffer from biases on

> either side, " said E. McAlindon, MD,

> Tufts-New England Medical

> Center, Boston, Massachusetts, and the lead

> investigator in the study.

> " By merging two datasets that were obtained

> completely independently

> on each subject, we were able to conduct a robust

> study that really

> does suggest an association of weather with aches

> and pains. "

>

> The American College of Rheumatology is the

> professional organization

> for rheumatologists and health professionals who

> share a dedication to

> healing, preventing disability and curing arthritis

> and related

> rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. For more

> information on the

> ACR's annual meeting, see

>

>

>

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