Cold weather is usually considered to be one of the causes of common cold, flu, influenza, pneumonia etc., especially in winter.
However, many believe that these illnesses may be mainly caused not by low temperatures, but by other factors which are by themselves correlated with cold weather, such as lower humidity and the obvious fact that we tend to stay in close, crowded places a lot.
Some studies argue that lower temperatures facilitate the reproduction of rinoviruses (and/or increase in other negative factors), while others seem to suggest that this may be related, for example, with humidity.
Given the great amount of people who are affected by cold and supposedly cold-related illnesses, I was surprised to see that there is not actually a great amount of information and studies on the subject.
The general public feeling that cold causes colds may not be accurate.
Can anyone provide additional data, information, and experimental evidence on whether exposure to cold (continuous exposure, not sudden repeated brief exposure to cold environments) actually cause colds?
