The Effects of Atmospheric Pressure Fluctuations on Human Behaviour Related to Injury Occurrences: Study on the Background of Low and Moderate Levels of Geomagnetic Activity

Abstract

The effects of slight atmospheric pressure fluctuations (APFs) within two ranges of periods attributed mostly to far infrasound (3 s–120 s) and internal gravity waves (120 s–1200 s) on human behaviour related to injury occurrences, within the one-year interval, are examined. Special interest is paid to the analysis of combined effects of APFs and geomagnetic activity (GMA) attributed to low and moderate levels. The relations between the daily number of emergency transport events due to sport injuries (EEI) and daily mean of APF integral amplitudes within the two ranges (DHAI and DHAG, resp.) along with the planetary geomagnetic index Ap are analysed using the regression models based on categorization. As shown, the high DHAI is a rather strong meteorotropic factor, being of relevance to increase in the incidence of sport injuries. The high DHAG appears to be of opposite sense on the background of low DHAI, promoting the decreased EEI number. The consideration of combined effects of the APF and GMA reveals that the negative effects of high DHAI are more pronounced in combination with low Ap levels. The results are discussed from the viewpoint of the necessity of further medico-meteorological studies using databases of most disturbed geophysical conditions.