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We examine the association between living in an urban area with more or less green space and the probability of being obese. This work involves the creation of a new dataset which combines geo-coded data at the individual level from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing with green space data from the European Urban Atlas 2012. We find evidence suggestive of a u-shaped relationship between green space in urban areas and obesity; those living in areas with the lowest and highest shares of green space within a 1.6 km buffer zone have a higher probability of being classified as obese (BMI ⩾30). The unexpected result that persons in areas with both the lowest and highest shares of green space have a higher probability of being obese than those in areas with intermediate shares, suggests that other characteristics of urban areas may be mediating this relationship.
Rapid economic and demographic change in the Greater Dublin Area over the last decade, with associated increases in car dependence and congestion, has focused policy on encouraging more sustainable forms of travel.
Smart meters, in conjunction with time-of-use (TOU) pricing, can facilitate an improvement in energy efficiency by providing consumers with enhanced information about electricity consumption and costs, and thereby encourage a shift away from consumption during peak hours. In 2009-10, the Irish Commission for Energy Regulation co-ordinated a randomised controlled trial in the Irish residential electricity market. Smart meters were introduced in approximately 5,000 households, divided into control and treatment groups, with treatment groups exposed to a variety of TOU tariffs and information stimuli. This paper analyses the response of Irish households at different times of the day to the introduction of TOU tariffs and information stimuli. We find that these measures have a significant effect in reducing electricity consumption in Ireland, particularly during peak hours. However, while households reduce peak demand significantly after the introduction of TOU tariffs and associated information, there is little incremental response to increasing differentials between peak and off-peak prices.
The decline in breastfeeding behaviour among immigrants to Ireland with length of time since migration highlights the need for appropriate interventions aimed at countering the particular negative attitudes to breastfeeding that are observed in Irish society.
Background:Despite a steady increase in the rate of breastfeeding in Ireland over the period 2004-2010 (from 46.8 per cent in 2004 to 55.7 per cent in 2010), Irish rates of breastfeeding are still low by international standards. Over this period, the characteristics of mothers and babies changed, with mothers increasingly older, having fewer children and increasingly born outside the Republic of Ireland. Aims:The purpose of this paper is to understand the extent to which changing maternal and birth characteristics explained the increase in the breastfeeding rate in Ireland over the period [2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009][2010]. Methods:We apply non-linear decomposition techniques to micro-data from the 2004-2010 Irish National Perinatal Reporting System to examine this issue. The technique allows us to quantify the extent to which the increase in the breastfeeding rate over the period 2004-2010 is due to changing maternal and birth characteristics. Results:We find that between 55 and 74 per cent of the increase over the period can be explained by changing characteristics, with the increasing share of mothers from Eastern Europe, and increasing maternal age the most important contributors. Conclusions:These findings suggest that existing policy initiatives have been relatively ineffective in increasing breastfeeding rates in Ireland, i.e., most of the observed increase occurred simply because the characteristics of mothers were changing in ways that made them increasingly likely to breastfeed. Aims:The purpose of this paper is to understand the extent to which changing maternal and birth characteristics explained the increase in the breastfeeding rate in Ireland over the period 2004-2010. Methods:We apply non-linear decomposition techniques to micro-data from the [2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009][2010] Irish National Perinatal Reporting System to examine this issue. The technique allows us to quantify the extent to which the increase in the breastfeeding rate over the period 2004-2010 is due to changing maternal and birth characteristics. Results:We find that between 55 and 74 per cent of the increase over the period can be explained by changing characteristics, with the increasing share of mothers from Eastern Europe, and increasing maternal age the most important contributors. Conclusions:These findings suggest that existing policy initiatives have been relatively ineffective in increasing breastfeeding rates in Ireland, i.e., most of the observed increase occurred simply because the characteristics of mothers were changing in ways that made them increasingly likely to breastfeed.P a g e 3 o f 1 5
Background Social distancing and similar measures in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic have greatly increased loneliness and social isolation among older adults. Understanding the association between loneliness and mortality is therefore critically important. We examined whether combinations of loneliness and social isolation, using a metric named social asymmetry, was associated with increased mortality risk. Methods The sample was derived from participants in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling older adults aged ≥50. Survey data were linked to official death registration records. Cox proportional hazards regressions and competing risk survival analyses were used to examine the association between social asymmetry and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Results Of four social asymmetry groups, concordant low lonely (low loneliness, low isolation) included 35.5% of participants; 26.4% were concordant high lonely (high loneliness, high isolation); 19.2% were discordant robust (low loneliness, high isolation) and 18.9% discordant susceptible (high loneliness, low isolation). The concordant high lonely (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09–1.87) and discordant robust (HR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.04–1.81) groups had an increased mortality risk compared to those in the concordant low lonely group. The concordant high lonely group had an increased risk of mortality due to diseases of the circulatory system (sub-distribution hazard ratio = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.03–2.25). Conclusion We found that social asymmetry predicted mortality over a 7-year follow-up period. Our results confirm that a mismatch between subjective loneliness and objective social isolation, as well as the combination of loneliness and social isolation, were associated with an increased all-cause mortality risk.
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