Table 2.
Fitted regression model * for the effect of temperature and relative humidity on the incidence of the skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs), skin and soft-tissue infections caused by S. aureus (SA-SSTIs) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).
| Weekly Average Maximum Temperature °C | Weekly Average Minimum Temperature °C | Weekly Average Relative Humidity in % | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut-off ** | Below 33 | Above 33 | Below 24 | Above 24 | Below 78 | Above 78 | ||||||||||||
| Outcomes | Coef. | 95% CI | p | Coef. | 95% CI | p | Coef. | 95% CI | p | Coef. | 95% CI | p | Coef. | 95% CI | p | Coef. | 95% CI | p |
| SSTIs | −0.20 | −0.97 to 0.56 | 0.600 | 0.60 | −0.43 to 1.62 | 0.253 | −0.48 | −1.19 to 0.22 | 0.180 | 0.90 | 0.04 to 1.76 | 0.040 | 0.24 | 0.03 to 0.45 | 0.025 | −0.25 | −0.50 to 0.016 | 0.065 |
| SA-SSTIs | −0.56 | −1.14 to 0.01 | 0.056 | 0.69 | −0.02 to 1.41 | 0.058 | 0.03 | −0.69 to 0.77 | 0.919 | −0.12 | −0.95 to 0.71 | 0.781 | 0.10 | −0.06 to 0.27 | 0.228 | −0.17 | −0.37 to 0.02 | 0.078 |
| MRSA | −0.42 | −0.86 to 0.03 | 0.066 | 0.57 | 0.01 to 1.12 | 0.044 | 0.03 | −0.47 to 0.54 | 0.895 | −0.11 | −0.68 to 0.48 | 0.718 | 0.10 | −0.02 to 0.22 | 0.097 | −0.18 | −0.32 to −0.04 | 0.012 |
* Regression models with Newey-West standard errors and coefficients estimated by ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, assuming a heteroskedastic error structure and a maximum lag 2. p-values less than 0.05 were considered as significant and p-values between 0.05 and 0.10 as of “borderline significance”; ** The cut-off values for temperature and relative humidity were chosen from the graphs of the cubic splines. Coef. = coefficient, negative sign in the coefficient indicates decreasing number of cases and positive sign indicates increasing number of cases.