Trends of infectious diseases, epidemic patterns, and the association with meteorological events: 2500 years of evidence from an observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Meteorological factors are known to influence the transmission of infectious diseases. Studying historical epidemics in ancient China provides valuable insights into how environmental stressors shaped public health, with implications for modern disease control. We aimed to quantitatively assess the relationship between meteorological events and epidemic severity in China from 674 BC to 1911 AD.

Methods

We extracted data from 'A Compendium of Chinese Meteorological Records of the Last 3000 Years'. We digitised epidemic events, consequences, and associated meteorological conditions and categorised them into ordinal levels. We used descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression to analyse annual patterns and associations across historical periods.

Re

SUBMITTER: Liu Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12412270 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature