Browsing by Author "Santana, P."
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- Can cold weather be a cardiovascular determinant in warm countries?Publication . Vasconcelos, J.; Freire, E.; Almendra, R.; Santana, P.In almost every temperate region of the world, the number of cardiovascular mortality increases significantly during winter months. This phenomenon has been considered as a public health issue in several countries as many of these deaths are considered to be avoidable. The cause for the excess of winter deaths can be attributed to a number of factors, such as diet, exercise and exposure to cold weather. Curiously, southern European countries, such as Portugal, seem to have the highest excess winter deaths that seem to be related to exposure of cold. However, very few studies have addressed this relationship in Portugal and no quantification of the role of cold weather on cardiovascular diseases has been published. The main goal of this study is to quantify the short effect of cold weather on the cardiovascular morbidity in Portugal Generalized additive Poisson regression models were used in order to obtain the influence of a thermal comfort index (PET) on daily hospitalizations for acute myocardial Infarction in the two most developed metropolitan areas of Portugal: Lisbon and Oporto. All models were adjusted for time and other environmental variables. Influenza was also considered as a confounder. The main results reveal an increase up to 2.2% (95% CI = 0,9%; 3,3%) of daily hospital admissions in winter per degree fall in PET. The increase in daily hospitalizations was greater for the entire population than when only the elderly (>65 years) were considered. View publication
- Condições climáticas e morbilidade/mortalidade: Contributos para uma melhoria da habitabilidade e para o planeamento urbano em PortugalPublication . Vasconcelos, J.; Freire, E.; Almendra, R.; Machado, J. Reis; Santana, P.A exposição ao frio pode debilitar severamente o estado de saúde, nomeadamente ao desencadear doenças cardiovasculares e respiratórias. Através de inquéritos realizados em diversos Hospitais em Portugal foi feito um levantamento das características da habitação dos doentes internados com Síndroma Coronária Aguda. Foram identificados diversos elementos que caracterizam uma vulnerabilidade à exposição ao frio em Portugal, possivelmente contribuindo para o desencadear/agravar da doença.
- Human thermal discomfort and health in Portugal: a geographical assessmentPublication . Vasconcelos, J.; Freire, E.; Almendra, R.; Machado, J.R.; Santana, P.
- The health impacts of poor housing conditions and thermal discomfortPublication . Vasconcelos, J.; Freire, E.; Morais, J.; Machado, J.R.; Santana, P.On summer and winter months, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rates vary throughout Europe. For example, areas with mild winters seem to be the ones with higher number of seasonal mortality. In fact, Portugal is one of the southern countries together with Ireland that have higher mortality in winter. However, the number of studies relating cold weather with morbidity/mortality is still very rare. These occurrences are suspected to be associated with housing quality especially thermal insulation. In order to assess the relation between the incidence of coronary events and housing conditions in Portugal, a survey on inpatients with any form of acute coronary syndromes was undertaken during winter months, in order to get some data about houseability and residents behavior attitudes against cold exposure. It remained clear that poor housing conditions and/or lack of protective measures against cold exposure are common in Portugal. A better knowledge about the impact of weather and climate on health may be applied to built up a set of regulations for housing design (for new but also for old dwellings restoration); but also it is essential for the establishment of adaptation and mitigation policies and strategies, as well as on health planning and on the development of early warning systems.