Protective role of summer acupoint application therapy on weather-triggered rheumatoid arthritis flares

= 0.030). Attributable fractions were 12.13% and - 12.54% for control and SAA groups, respectively. The protective effect of SAA therapy was stronger among females, patients aged ≥45 years, and those with more comorbidities, and was most pronounced in autumn. These findings indicate that SAA therapy may mitigate DTR-related RA hospitalization risk, highlighting a potential preventive strategy for vulnerable populations. What is innovative in this paper is that the linking of meteorological stressors with a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) intervention was first explored, and the results of the study also showed that TCM intervention was indeed associated with a reduced risk of DTR-related RA hospitalizations. However, the observational nature of this study precludes causal inference, and future randomized controlled trials should be employed to validate these findings further.