Hygienic assessment of weather sensitivity and meteotropic reactions in students

The issue of weather sensitivity and meteotropic reactions in various population groups depending on the age, place of residence, professional features, and health status is relevant and inadequately covered in scientific literature. The study was aimed to assess weather sensitivity and meteotropic reactions in medical university students of various age groups. Polling of 243 students aged 17–18 and 23–24 years was performed using a tailored questionnaire consisting of 16 questions allowing one to detect weather sensitivity and meteotropic reactions in the respondents. Analysis of the data acquired showed that 53.7% of female and 16.7% of male first-year students had weather sensitivity (р < 0.001). Furthermore, 47.0% of surveyed first-year students and 67.0% of 5–6th-year students complained of various intermittent meteotropic reactions. In first-year students, meteotropic reactions were most often manifested in the decreased performance (76.6%), headache (74.6%), fatigue (70.2%). The weather-sensitive 5–6th-year students more often complained of the bouts of headaches (72.9%), decreased performance (66.7%), sleep disorders (31.2%), and muscle pain (49.6%). Meteotropic reactions occurred in 47.0–67.0% of the surveyed students of various age groups. Thus, when weather sensitivity is detected in students during the medical check-up, further prevention of the meteotropic reaction exacerbations should be tailored based on the medical weather forecasting.