Publications by authors named "D Houthuijs"
Background: The minimum mortality temperature (MMT) or MMT percentile (MMTP) is an indicator of population susceptibility to nonoptimum temperatures. MMT and MMTP change over time; however, the changing directions show region-wide heterogeneity. We examined the heterogeneity of temporal changes in MMT and MMTP across multiple communities and in multiple countries.
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- Temperature variability (TV), both intra-day and inter-day, impacts mortality rates, but this study found intra-day variation poses a higher risk to all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality.
- Analyzing data from 758 locations over nearly 50 years, the researchers discovered that each increase in intra-day TV correlates with a greater increase in mortality risk compared to inter-day TV.
- The study recommends further evaluations of the impacts of temperature variability on health, particularly focusing on intra-day fluctuations, which accounted for more than four times the mortality risk compared to inter-day variability.
Introduction: Epidemiological cohort studies have consistently found associations between long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution and a range of morbidity and mortality endpoints. Recent evaluations by the World Health Organization and the Global Burden of Disease study have suggested that these associations may be nonlinear and may persist at very low concentrations. Studies conducted in North America in particular have suggested that associations with mortality persisted at concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProximity to livestock farms and COVID-19 in the Netherlands, 2020-2021.
Int J Hyg Environ Health
August 2022
Objectives: In the Netherlands, during the first phase of the COVID-19 epidemic, the hotspot of COVID-19 overlapped with the country's main livestock area, while in subsequent phases this distinct spatial pattern disappeared. Previous studies show that living near livestock farms influence human respiratory health and immunological responses. This study aimed to explore whether proximity to livestock was associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although drinking water in the Netherlands is generally accepted as safe, public concern about health risks of long-term intake still exist.
Objective: The aim was to explore associations between drinking water quality for nitrate, water hardness, calcium and magnesium and causes-of-death as related to cardiovascular diseases amongst which coronary heart disease and colorectal cancer.
Methods: We used national administrative databases on cause-specific mortality, personal characteristics, residential history, social economic indicators, air quality and drinking water quality for parameters specified by the EU Drinking Water Directive.