Assessment of meteorological conditions in relation to the onset of spontaneous pneumothorax in young adults

: Thirty-eight patients less than 30-year-old with spontaneous pneumothorax, of which onset date were known between January 2001 and December 2007, were included in this study. Meteorological factors such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, amount of rainfall and actual sunshine duration were assessed for the onset days of spontaneous pneumothorax (SP days) compared with days without pneumothorax (non-SP days) in the analyzed periods. The difference of those meteorological factors between the index day and one day before were also assessed. No significant difference was found in meteorological factors between SP and non-SP days. While, significant change in minimal temperature between SP days and non-SP days was found (+1.000 degrees C vs -0.015 degrees C, p=0.019). Meteorological factors may affect the onset of spontaneous pneumothorax in young adults. However, further assessment of accumulation of the patients is necessary including multi-institute study.