Page 10 - David Molitor News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Objective To study the relation between rainfall and outpatient visits for joint or back pain in a large patient population. Design Observational study. Setting US Medicare insurance claims data linked to rainfall data from US weather stations. Participants 1 552 842 adults aged ≥65 years attending a total of 11 673 392 outpatient visits with a general internist during 2008-12. Main outcome measures The proportion of outpatient visits for joint or back pain related conditions (rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, spondylosis, intervertebral disc disorders, and other non-traumatic joint disorders) was compared between rainy days and non-rainy days, adjusting for patient characteristics, chronic conditions, and geographic fixed effects (thereby comparing rates of joint or back pain related outpatient visits on rainy days versus non-rainy days within the same area). Results Of the 11 673 392 outpatient visits by Medicare beneficiaries, 2 095 761 (18.0%) occurred on

United statesJulian simonNolan millerRuthl newhouseAnupamb jenaDavid molitorAndrewr olenskiGlobal historical climatology network dailyAtmospheric administrationNational institutes of healthNational institute on agingNational oceanicCarrier filesHealthcare common procedure coding systemNational institutesNational institute