Using Baidu Index To Investigate The Effect Of Temperature On Allergic Rhinitis

Objective:Allergic rhinitis(AR)is a highly heterogeneous disease in which the nasal mucosa presents an elevated airway response to external antigens and/or nonspecific stimuli.Studies have shown that physical and chemical factors such as cold air and special odor can induce the occurrence and development of AR.With the development of social modernization and the explosion of the Internet industry,it has become a habit for netizens to get disease information online.Baidu Index(BI)is the real-time data obtained by weighting the search volume of specific words by netizens.In this study,BI search data were used to explore the epidemiological characteristics of AR and the impact of temperature on AR,providing theoretical basis for clinical treatment and tertiary prevention of AR.Methods:BI search data of "allergic rhinitis","cold air allergic rhinitis","pollen allergy","catkin allergy","mite allergy" and other keywords were collected from January 1,2016 to December 31,2018 in all provinces of China.The meteorological data and BI daily search volume of "allergic rhinitis" in 8 provincial capitals such as Harbin and Hohhot,as well as the monthly outpatient volume of otolaryngology department of the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University in the same period were selected.Spearman rank correlation analysis among various factors was conducted with the help of SPSS26.0software.Results:BI search of allergic rhinitis in China showed a seasonal trend.The correlation between "pollen allergy" and "allergic rhinitis" was strong in the northern belt and adjacent provinces,"mite allergy" was significant in the southern region,and the overall correlation of "catkin allergy" was low and concentrated in the northern region.In addition,de average daily temperature in the lower temperature areas in north China has a greater impact on AR.There is a positive correlation between average daily temperature and BI search volume of "allergic rhinitis" in Taiyuan(r=0.597,P < 0.01).Conclusion:Temperature change may be one of the important factors affecting the incidence of AR,especially cold air stimulation.With the help of the past data and timeliness of Internet search data such as Baidu Index,disease causes of AR can be determined and disease trends can be predicted.