SEASONALITY OF DISEASE IN KUWAIT

To compare the seasonal variation in total mortality and deaths from cardiovascular, respiratory, and malignant disease, data were collected from North-East Scotland (Grampian region) and Kuwait. Seasonal differences were similar, in both timing and degree, for total mortality and deaths from circulatory disease, but were greater in Kuwait for respiratory disease. Peak mortality was during winter in both areas: in Grampian, when the climate is most uncomfortable, and in Kuwait, when the climate is at its most comfortable. Socioeconomic changes in Kuwait have been accompanied by a rapid fall in the degree of seasonality (deseasonality) for both total and infant mortality. These findings suggest that mortality peaks in winter, not because of a seasonally low temperature, but because of a seasonal fall in mean temperature irrespective of the annual mean temperature.