Search

Climate change and formation of regional weather features increase both direct (immediate effects of extremal temperature and other weather and climatic anomalies) and indirect (environmental deterioration, etc.) consequences of global climate change. The development of investigations of medical weather assessment, medical and meteorological forecasting system, the use of treatment and preventive measures give the opportunity to prepare for weather biotropic conditions and reduce weather-conditioned exacerbations., Objective: To assess the clinical effectiveness of non-drug comprehensive methods, including balneotherapy and physiotherapy, in patients with somatic diseases, complicated by increased meteosensitivity, depending on the features of weather conditions in the Moscow region., Material and Methods: The study included 120 patients diagnosed with «osteoarthrosis/osteoarthritis» with predominant hip and knee joint damage. The majority of patients had comorbidities, namely hypertensive disease (67.2%), ischemic heart disease (32.8%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma (10.8%), grade II-III obesity (10%) and compensated diabetes mellitus (9.2%). The severity and main symptoms of the meteopathic reactions' manifestation were assessed by questionnaires consisting of three blocks, HAM, SF-36 tests and psychological stress scale. Medical and meteorological assessment of weather conditions in Moscow included analysis of the main weather-forming factors for 4 main synoptic observations in 10-minute mode for current and predictive 2 days, as well as daily characteristics of solar activity. Treatment methods included alternating magnetic field (AMF) procedures, general sodium chloride baths, massage and rehabilitation exercises (RE) (1st group); AMF, «dry» carbon dioxide baths, applications with brine on the affected joints and RE (2nd group); AMF, «dry» radon baths, applications with brine and RE (3rd group)., Results: The conducted studies have revealed the trigger role of most biotropic combinations of weather-forming factors that provoke exacerbation in patients with joint diseases. Sodium chloride, «dry» carbon dioxide and radon baths combined with AMF, applications with brine on the affected joints and RE are pathogenetically justified and contribute to increase of adaptive potential, functional reserves of the body and provide significantly high ( p< 0.05) meteocorrective action., Conclusion: The obtained results can be used for rehabilitation of patients with joint diseases complicated by increased meteosensitivity.

The environment has the potential to adversely affect human health. Among the variety of adverse factors, one of the leading is the weather, including its abnormal patterns, helio- and geomagnetic disturbances, and extreme hydrometeorological phenomena. Currently, the study of mechanisms of weather and climate factors impacting sick and healthy organisms is warranted by the need to determine the main clinical types of meteotropic (pathological) reactions and development of scientific-based programs for their prevention and treatment with the use of non-drug methods., Objective: To identify the patterns of meteotropic reactions to biotropic weather conditions and evaluate the meteocorrective efficacy of physical and balneal factors in patients with joint diseases., Materials and Methods: We studied the features of weather-related disorders in 165 patients diagnosed with osteoarthrosis/osteoarthritis, including those after total hip and knee arthroplasty. Most patients (55.7%) had cardiovascular comorbidities. All patients received balneal and physiotherapeutic procedures in addition to background drug therapy and exercise therapy. The patients were divided into 3 groups: Group 1 (55 patients) received general sodium chloride baths and exposure to alternating magnetic field (AMF); Group 2 (54 patients) received «dry» carbon dioxide baths and AMF; Group 3 (56 patients) received general baths with the antioxidant and antihypoxic agent Mitofen, and AMF. The weather-sensitivity and severity of meteorological reactions were evaluated using questionnaires, and self-observation diaries, correlated with medical and meteorological weather forecasts. We used the WAM method (well-being, activity, mood), the Abbreviated Multifactor Personality Inventory (AMPI), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Medical and meteorological weather assessment was performed using a modern medical and meteorological complex (AMMC)., Results: Increased weather sensitivity of varying severity was confirmed in 140 (84.8%) patients, and 25 (15.2%) patients were classified as conditionally weather-sensitive. The most severe meteotropic reactions were noted in patients with cardiovascular comorbidities (55.7%) and older individuals with a compromised medical history (29.1%). The use of balneal and physiotherapeutic methods in the medical rehabilitation programs had a positive effect on the manifestations of autonomous disorders and psychological dysadaptation; also, they contributed to the increase of adaptation and functional reserves of the organism exposed to biotropic weather conditions. The effects of the factors were manifested by the reduction of severity of meteotropic reactions. The high effectiveness of general baths with antioxidant and antihypoxic action was revealed in 71.8% of patients with cardiovascular comorbidities. The meteocorrective effect of sodium chloride baths was less pronounced (29.7%), although the majority of patients after the treatment course showed an improvement in their psychoemotional status (39.7%) and a decrease in severe weather-related exacerbations during spastic weather (from 17.6 to 6.7%)., Conclusion: The meteocorrective efficacy of complex non-drug methods in patients with joint diseases, including concomitant cardiovascular diseases, has been proved.

Weather is one of the leading negatively acting on the human body factors. Abnormal regimes and extreme hydrometeorological and geophysical phenomena form the most biotropic external conditions that can have a negative effect and provoke weather-related exacerbations in people with chronic non-infectious diseases. Today, the problem of the climatic and weather factors influence acquires a new content and becomes relevant in connection with the global climate change and its regional manifestations., Purpose of the Study: To scientifically substantiate the need for medical and meteorological monitoring to determine the most biotropic weather conditions in the Moscow metropolis and to evaluate the meteorological effectiveness of non-drug rehabilitation methods., Material and Methods: 335 patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis of various locations, and after total hip and knee arthroplasty, were included in the study. Patients were divided into 4 groups: 67 patients of the 1st group received "dry" carbonic baths and exercise therapy; general radon baths and exercise therapy were prescribed to 60 patients of the 2nd group; 61 patients of the 3rd group received general sodium chloride baths and exercise therapy; 84 patients of the 4th group got local cryotherapy and exercise therapy procedures. The study of weather sensitivity was carried out by the questionnaire method. Psychological examination was carried out using the tests HAM (health, activity, mood), Mini-Mult (Abbreviated multifactor questionnaire for personality research) and HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale)., Results: 272 (81.2%) patients had increased meteosensitivity, which was accompanied by mild manifestations in 24.3%, moderate severity in 48.2%, and severe ones in 27.5%. The effectiveness of the balneotherapy and cryotherapy methods was confirmed by positive dynamics and a clear regression of meteopathic reactions in 76.1% of patients after a general radon therapy and in 61.7% after «dry» carbon dioxide baths. Total sodium chloride baths did not have a significant meteorological effect. However, a positive trend in psychological testing indicators was noted, which indicates an improvement in psychological adaptation after a course of treatment. Local cryotherapy procedures helped to reduce only severe meteopathic reactions from 14.3 to 8.3% and improve the psychoemotional state, which may be the choice when it is impossible to use balneotherapy., Conclusion: The increase in the frequency of biotropic weather conditions (hypoxic and spastic) is observed in the climate of the Moscow metropolis. This contributes to the increase and aggravation of the meteopathology manifestations. The effectiveness of non-drug methods in the prevention of increased meteorological dependence in patients with joint diseases has been proved.

Objective: The relevance of the problem stated in the title of this article comes from the significant increase in the prevalence of the functional cardiovascular disorders having been documented during the past years especially such as circulatory asthenia that most frequently affects the young people of the working age suffering from the systemic neurogenic imbalance in the organism and can be seriously aggravated by the influence of biotropic weather conditions and be responsible for enhanced meteosensitivity that has negative effect on the quality of life and impairs the effectiveness of the therapeutic interventions., Aim:  The objective of the present study was to provide the scientifically sound substantiation of the feasibility of the application of the non-medicamentous methods (including the interval hypoxic training and «dry» carbonic baths) for the prevention and treatment of neurocirculatory asthenia complicated by enhanced meteosensitivity and evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of these approach., Material and Methods:  A total of 50 patients with the verified diagnosis of neurocirculatory asthenia were recruited to participate in the study. All the patients were divided into two groups. 62% of them exhibited the well apparent meteosensitivity and were included in the study group 1. Group 2 was comprised of the remaining patients (38% of their total number) presenting with neurocirculatory asthenia who did not suffer appreciable changes in the general physical and mental state under the influence of varying weather conditions. The patients of both groups received the identical combined treatment consisting of interval hypoxic training and taking «dry» carbonic baths. Monitoring of the main meteorological parameters was carried out on a daily basis. It was combined with the assessment of the weather conditions from the medical perspective, the evaluation of the physical performance capability of the patients based on the results of the veloergometric testing, and the estimation of their functional state of the autonomous nervous system with the use of the data obtained in cardiointervalographic studies. In addition, the state of the microcirculatory system was evaluated by means of laser Doppler flowmetry and making use of a capillary blood flow analyzer. The psychological status of the patients was characterized using a computer-generated version of the abridged multifactorial questionnaire for the elucidation of the manifest personality-scale anxiety (Spielbeger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). All these studies were carried out both before and after the course of non-medicamentous therapy., Results:  After the course of the combined non-medicamentous treatment had been completed the health status of the patients comprising the two groups was found to be improved as appeared from the decrease of the number and severity of subjective autonomous manifestations, the positive changes in the functional state of the cardiovascular system and the autonomic nervous system as well as in the general psychological status. The most clinically significant result of the treatment included the reduction in the incidence of the severe meteopathic reactions in the patients of group 2 (from 14% before to 3% after therapy). The frequency of moderately expressed meteopathic reactions likewise decreased (from 31% before to 14% after the treatment)., Conclusions:  The study has demonstrated that under the environmental and climatic conditions of the of Moscow region formation of biotropic weather factors of the hypoxic type (39%) constitutes a serious risk factor contributing to the development of imbalance in the vegetative nervous system and its exacerbations in response to variations of weather parameters. The application of the non-medicamentous therapeutic modalities (including interval hypoxic training and «dry» carbonic baths) for the management of the meteosensitive patients presenting with neurocirculatory asthenia is pathogenetically justified, and they can be recommended for both the treatment and prevention of weather- dependent pathological processes and their exacerbations.

The present review concerns the problem of the influence of the climatic conditions on the human body, the creation of the medical weather forecast service, the development of non-pharmacological methods for the correction of meteopathic disorders, and the reduction of the risk of the complications provoked by the unfavourable weather conditions. The literature data are used to analyse the influence of climatic and weather factors on the formation of enhanced meteosensitivity and the development of exacerbations of chronic non-communicable diseases under the influence of weather conditions. It is concluded that marked changes of the weather may lead to an increased frequency of exacerbations of the chronic non-communicable diseases. The influence of weather and climate on human health is becoming an increasingly important factor under the current conditions bearing in mind the modern tendency toward variations of the global climatic conditions and their specific regional manifestations. The authors emphasize the necessity of the identification and evaluation of the predictors of the development of high meteosensitivity for the prognostication of the risks of the meteopathic reactions and the complications associated with the changes in weather conditions as well as the importance of the improvement of the existing and the development of new methods for the non-pharmacological prevention and correction of enhanced meteosensitivity with the application of the natural and preformed physical factors.