Differences of Rainfall–Malaria Associations in Lowland and Highland in Western Kenya

Many studies have reported a relationship between climate factors and malaria. However, results were inconsistent across the areas. We examined associations between climate factors and malaria in two geographically different areas: lowland (lakeside area) and highland in Western Kenya. Associations between climate factors (rainfall, land surface temperature (LST), and lake water level (LWL)) and monthly malaria cases from 2000 to 2013 in six hospitals (two in lowland and four in highland) were analyzed using time-series regression analysis with a distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) and multivariate meta-analysis. We found positive rainfall–malaria overall associations in lowland with a peak at 120 mm of monthly rainfall with a relative risk (RR) of 7.32 (95% CI: 2.74, 19.56) (reference 0 mm), whereas similar associations were not found in highland. Positive associations were observed at lags of 2 to 4 months at rainfall around 100–200 mm in both lowland and highland. The RRs at 150 mm rainfall were 1.42 (95% CI: 1.18, 1.71) in lowland and 1.20 (95% CI: 1.07, 1.33) in highland (at a lag of 3 months). LST and LWL did not show significant association with malaria. The results suggest that geographical characteristics can influence climate–malaria relationships.