Modification of heat-related mortality in an elderly urban population by vegetation (urban green) and proximity to water (urban blue): Evidence from Lisbon, Portugal.
Environ. Health Perspect. 124, 927-934 (2016)
BACKGROUND: Urban populations are highly vulnerable to the adverse effects of heat, with heat-related mortality showing intra-urban variations that are likely due to differences in urban characteristics and socioeconomic status. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the influence of urban green and urban blue, i.e., urban vegetation and water bodies, on heat-related excess mortality in the elderly above 65 years in Lisbon, Portugal between 1998 and 2008. METHODS: We used remotely sensed data and geographic information to determine the amount of urban vegetation and the distance to water bodies (the Atlantic Ocean and the Tagus estuary). Poisson Generalized Additive Models were fitted, allowing for the interaction between equivalent temperature [Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI)] and quartiles of urban greenness [classified using the Normalized Differenced Vegetation Index (NDVI)] and proximity to water (≤ 4 km versus > 4 km), while adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: The association between mortality and a 1°C in UTCI above the 99th percentile (24.8°C) was stronger for areas in the lowest NDVI quartile (14.7% higher; 95% CI: 1.9, 17.5%) than areas in the highest quartile (3.0%; 95% CI: 2.0, 4.0%). In areas > 4km from water, a 1°C in UTCI above the 99th percentile was associated with a 7.1% increase in mortality (95% CI: 6.2, 8.1%), whereas in areas ≤ 4 km from water, the estimated increase in mortality was only 2.1% (95% CI: 1.2, 3.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Urban green and blue appeared to have a mitigating effect on heat-related mortality in the elderly population in Lisbon. Increasing the amount of vegetation may be a good strategy to counteract the adverse effects of heat in urban areas. Our findings also suggest potential benefits of urban blue that may be present several kilometers from a body of water.
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Publikationstyp
Artikel: Journalartikel
Dokumenttyp
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
Typ der Hochschulschrift
Herausgeber
Schlagwörter
Ambient-temperature; Nonlinear Models; European Cities; Air-pollution; Island; Waves; Spaces; Vulnerability; Bangladesh; Mitigation
Keywords plus
Sprache
englisch
Veröffentlichungsjahr
2016
Prepublished im Jahr
2015
HGF-Berichtsjahr
2015
ISSN (print) / ISBN
0091-6765
e-ISSN
1552-9924
ISBN
Bandtitel
Konferenztitel
Konferzenzdatum
Konferenzort
Konferenzband
Quellenangaben
Band: 124,
Heft: 7,
Seiten: 927-934
Artikelnummer: ,
Supplement: ,
Reihe
Verlag
Research Triangle Park
Verlagsort
NC [u.a.]
Tag d. mündl. Prüfung
0000-00-00
Betreuer
Gutachter
Prüfer
Topic
Hochschule
Hochschulort
Fakultät
Veröffentlichungsdatum
0000-00-00
Anmeldedatum
0000-00-00
Anmelder/Inhaber
weitere Inhaber
Anmeldeland
Priorität
Begutachtungsstatus
Peer reviewed
Institut(e)
Institute of Epidemiology (EPI)
POF Topic(s)
30202 - Environmental Health
Forschungsfeld(er)
Genetics and Epidemiology
PSP-Element(e)
G-504000-001
G-504000-004
Förderungen
Copyright
Erfassungsdatum
2015-12-03