Browsing by Author "Silva, Giovani"
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- Short-term impacts of air temperature on hospitalizations for mental disorders in LisbonPublication . Almendra, Ricardo; Loureiro, Adriana; Silva, Giovani; Santana, Paula; Vasconcelos, JoãoIndividuals with mental disorders are often susceptible to the effects of extreme ambient temperatures. The aim of this study is to assess the short-term impacts of daily mean temperature on hospitalizations for mental disorders in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal. Methods: To assess the short-term impacts of daily mean temperature on hospitalizations for mental disorders (2008–2014), a quasi-Poisson generalized additive model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model was applied. The model was adjusted for day of the week, air pollution, relative humidity, time and seasonality. Results: The number of hospital admissions for mental disorder during the study period was 30,139. Hospital admissions increase significantly with high temperatures on day of exposure, at lag 0–1 and at lag 0–2.Women are more vulnerable than men, and there was no difference between the age groups studied. Conclusions: The exposure to high temperatures should be considered a significant risk factor for mental disorders; therefore, patient management services may need to be strengthened when extreme high temperature alerts are given
- The influence of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation index on hospital admissions through diseases of the circulatory system in Lisbon, PortugalPublication . Almendra, Ricardo; Santana, Paula; Vasconcelos, João; Silva, Giovani; Gonçalves, Fábio; Ambrizi, TércioThe aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), meteorological variables, air pollutants, and hospital admissions due to diseases of circulatory systems in Lisbon (Portugal) during winter months (2003–2012). This paper is one of the few studies analyzing the impact of NAO on health through its influence on thermal stress and air pollution and is the first to be conducted in Lisbon. This study uses meteorological data (synthetized into a thermal comfort index), air pollutant metrics, and the NAO index (all clustered in 10-day cycles to overcome daily variability of the NAO index). The relationship between morbidity, thermal comfort index, NAO index, and air pollutants was explored through several linear models adjusted to seasonality through a periodic function. The possible indirect effect between the NAO index and hospital admissions was tested, assuming that NAO (independent variable) is affecting hospital admissions (outcome variable) through thermal discomfort and/or pollution levels (tested as individual mediators). This test was conducted through causal mediation analysis and adjusted for seasonal variation. The results from this study suggest a possible indirect relationship between NAO index and hospital admissions. Although NAO is not significantly associated with hospital admissions, it is significantly associated with CO, PM2.5, NO, and SO2 levels, which in turn increase the probability of hospitalization. The discomfort index (built with temperature and relative humidity) is significantly associated with hospital admissions, but its variability is not explained by the NAO index. This study highlights the impacts of the atmospheric circulation patterns on health. Furthermore, understanding the influence of the atmospheric circulation patterns can support the improvement of the existing contingency plans.