Area Environment and Health in the Netherlands

__Abstract__ Geographical differences in health are becoming an increasingly important theme in the field of public health. Studies focusing on health differences between countries, or regions within countries, or even at a smaller geographical scale, provide evidence for geographical variations in health. The unequal distribution of health across geographical areas implies that where one lives does matter to health. The studies in this thesis aim to contribute to this discussion by focusing on the area environment and its relation to health at the small geographical scale. This introduction starts with a brief historical description of the role of place of residence in public health, followed by an explanation for observed geographical health patterns. We then elaborate on the mechanisms that might explain how the area environment can influence health. Next, five area features - which are the focus of this thesis - and their possible relation to health are discussed. Finally, we present an outline of this thesis with a brief summary of the individual chapters

Community social capital and suicide mortality in the Netherlands: A cross-sectional registry-based study

Background: Evidence on the effect of community social capital on suicide mortality rates is fragmentary and inconsistent. The present study aims to determine whether geographic variations in suicide mortality across the Netherlands were associated with community social capital. Methods. We included 3507 neighbourhoods with 6207 suicide deaths in the period 1995-2000. For each neighbourhood, we measured perceived social capital using information from interview surveys, and we measured structural aspects of social capital using population registers. Associations with mortality were determined using Poisson regression analysis with control for confounders at individual level (age, sex, marit

The association of neighbourhood psychosocial stressors and self‐rated health in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between neighbourhood-level psychosocial stressors (i.e. experience of crime, nuisance from neighbours, drug misuse, youngsters frequently hanging around, rubbish on the streets, feeling unsafe and dissatisfaction with the quality of green space) and self-rated health in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: A random sample of 2914 subjects aged > or = 18 years from 75 neighbourhoods in the city of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. DESIGN: Individual data from the Social State of Amsterdam Survey 2004 were linked to data on neighbourhood-level attributes from the Amsterdam Living and Security Survey 2003. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and neighbourhood-level variance. RESULTS: Fair to poor self-rated health was significantly associated with neighbourhood-level psychosocial stressors: nuisance from neighbours, drug misuse, youngsters frequently hanging around, rubbish on the streets, feeling unsafe and dissatisfaction with green space. In addition, when all the neighbourhood-level psychosocial stressors were combined, individuals from neighbourhoods with a high score of psychosocial stressors were more likely than those from neighbourhoods with a low score to report fair to poor health. These associations remained after adjustments for individual-level factors (i.e. age, sex, educational level, income and ethnicity). The neighbourhood-level variance showed significant differences in self-rated health between neighbourhoods independent of individual-level demographic and socioeconomic factors. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that neighbourhood-level psychosocial stressors are associated with self-rated health. Strategies that target these factors might prove a promising way to improve public healt

Exceptions to the rule: healthy deprived areas and unhealthy wealthy areas

In general, inhabitants of low socio-economic areas are unhealthier than inhabitants of high socio-economic areas, but some areas are an exception to this rule. These exceptions imply that other factors besides the socio-economic level of an area contribute to the health of the inhabitants of an area, e.g. environmental factors. In our study we concentrate on areas within the Netherlands that are healthier or unhealthier than could be expected based on their socio-economic level. This study first identifies these areas and secondly determines which area characteristics distinguish these areas from those areas where the level of health is in agreement with their socio-economic level. We used nation-wide data on neighbourhood differences in population composition (gender, age, marital status and ethnicity), urbanisation and two health indicators: mortality and hospitalisation rates. In the Netherlands, many areas are healthier or unhealthier than could be expected based on their income level alone. Areas with higher mortality rates than expected are mainly urban areas with high percentages of elderly people and persons living alone. Similar but opposite associations are observed for areas with lower mortality rates than expected, which are further characterised by a low percentage of non-western immigrants. Areas with lower hospitalisation rates than expected are mainly rural areas with few non-western immigrants. From these results, we conclude that urbanisation and residential segregation based on age, ethnicity and marital status might be important contributors to geographical health inequalitie

Exceptions to the rule: Healthy deprived areas and unhealthy wealthy areas

In general, inhabitants of low socio-economic areas are unhealthier than inhabitants of high socio-economic areas, but some areas are an exception to this rule. These exceptions imply that other factors besides the socio-economic level of an area contribute to the health of the inhabitants of an area, e.g. environmental factors. In our study we concentrate on areas within the Netherlands that are healthier or unhealthier than could be expected based on their socio-economic level. This study first identifies these areas and secondly determines which area characteristics distinguish these areas from those areas where the level of health is in agreement with their socio-economic level. We used nation-wide data on neighbourhood differences in population composition (gender, age, marital status and ethnicity), urbanisation and two health indicators: mortality and hospitalisation rates. In the Netherlands, many areas are healthier or unhealthier than could be expected based on their income level alone. Areas with higher mortality rates than expected are mainly urban areas with high percentages of elderly people and persons living alone. Similar but opposite associations are observed for areas with lower mortality rates than expected, which are further characterised by a low percentage of non-western immigrants. Areas with lower hospitalisation rates than expected are mainly rural areas with few non-western immigrants. From these results, we conclude that urbanisation and residential segregation based on age, ethnicity and marital status might be important contributors to geographical health inequalities.Mortality Hospitalisation Residential segregation Urbanisation Geographical health inequalities The Netherlands

Ethnic differences in the effect of environmental stressors on blood pressure and hypertension in the Netherlands

Abstract Background Evidence strongly suggests that the neighbourhood in which people live influences their health. Despite this, investigations of ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk factors have focused mainly on individual-level characteristics. The main purpose of this study was to investigate associations between neighbourhood-level environmental stressors (crime, housing density, nuisance from alcohol and drug misuse, quality of green space and social participation), and blood pressure (BP) and hypertension among different ethnic groups. Methods Individual data from the Amsterdam Health Survey 2004 were linked to data on neighbourhood stressors creating a multilevel design for data analysis. The study sample consisted of 517 Dutch, 404 Turkish and 365 Moroccans living in 15 neighbourhoods in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Results Amongst Moroccans, high density housing and nuisance from drug misuse were associated with a higher systolic BP, while high quality of green space and social participation were associated with a lower systolic BP. High level of nuisance from drug misuse was associated with a higher diastolic BP. High quality of green space was associated with lower odds of hypertension. Amongst Turkish, high level of crime and nuisance from motor traffic were associated with a higher diastolic BP. Similar associations were observed among the Dutch group but none of the differences were statistically significant. Conclusion The study findings show that neighbourhood-level stressors are associated with BP in ethnic minority groups but were less evident in the Dutch group. These findings might imply that the higher BP levels found in some ethnic minority groups might be partly due to their greater susceptibility to the adverse neighbourhood environment in which many ethnic minority people live. Primary prevention measures targeting these neighbourhood stressors may have an impact in reducing high BP related morbidity and mortality among ethnic minority groups.</p

Ethnic differences in the effect of environmental stressors on blood pressure and hypertension in the Netherlands-0

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Ethnic differences in the effect of environmental stressors on blood pressure and hypertension in the Netherlands"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/118</p><p>BMC Public Health 2007;7():118-118.</p><p>Published online 23 Jun 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1919368.</p><p></p