2.3. Special Situations

Consistent with the suggestion of Vedel-Krogh et al. [5], the impact of holidays (e.g., Christmas) on LP levels was analyzed. To this end, LP values 4 days before and 4 days after Easter, and analogously 4 days before and after Christmas, were compared. We assumed a 4 day comparison period because Easter is always on Sunday, followed by Easter Monday, a public holiday in Poland. A different (higher) calorie content of meals on off-work days was previously described, and could impact on the LP analysis [27].

To assess the impact of biometeorological conditions during the studied 3 years on the results of LP levels, we used 7 two-week long periods characterized by a significant change in meteorological parameters, in which the average UTCI value for the previous week was more than 10 °C lower, as compared to the following week, and 7 periods when the average UTCI value for the previous week was more than 10 °C higher than in the following week. We selected these periods to assess the impact of warmer and colder outdoor temperature on LP values in the patients.