Big data epidemiology: Drinking water quality in relation to health statistics in the Netherlands
Monique van der Aa
RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
Monique van der Aa works as a senior-researcher and policy advisor for drinking water and natural mineral waters at RIVM since 2006. Her main job is to advise the Dutch Drinking Water Inspectorate and Policymakers on subjects concerning drinking water quality. Previously, she worked 10 years in research and policy advise on groundwater protection. Her field of expertise is within hydrology and hydrochemistry, soil- and groundwater pollution, monitoring networks, emerging substances and drinking water quality standards. She wrote publications on risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and drugs of abuse in the Dutch water cycle, quality of mineral waters and effects of agricultural activities on groundwater quality.
Abstract
Importance of the work and objectives The increasing availability of databases with health data in the Netherlands, offers opportunities to investigate associations between drinking water and health characteristics for all... [ view full abstract ]
Importance of the work and objectives
The increasing availability of databases with health data in the Netherlands, offers opportunities to investigate associations between drinking water and health characteristics for all Dutch residents. The aim of our study is to use existing national databases to evaluate associations between health characteristics and drinking water quality.
Methodologies
We will couple national databases on health and mortality on municipal and possibly individual level, to information on drinking water quality. Using this approach, we will work with maximum sample sizes and most contrasting exposure levels available in the Netherlands. We will evaluate associations of drinking water quality and health characteristics and correct for confounding factors such as sex, age and socio-economic status.
We start with associations between stressors and diseases that are described by classic epidemiological research i.e. associations between hardness of drinking water and occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, associations between lung (and skin) cancer and arsenic concentration in delivered drinking water, and associations between Legionnaires’ disease incidence and type of drinking water production. In a further stage we might use the ‘big data epidemiology’ for more debated associations.
Main results and conclusions
Our null-hypothesis is that we will find no associations between drinking water quality and health characteristics in the Netherlands, and so that we can confirm earlier toxicologically based risk assessments. Moreover, the research will provide insight in additional value of big data epidemiological approach compared to the more classical risk assessment approach. At the conference, preliminary results will be presented.
Authors
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Monique van der Aa
(RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment)
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Merijn Schriks
(KWR Watercycle Research Institute)
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Danny Houthuijs
(RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment)
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Lieke Coppens
(Nelen-Schuurmans)
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Annemarie Van Wezel
(Utrecht University / KWR Watercycle Research Institute)
Topic Area
Choose your Organised Session from the list below: Anthropogenic and geogenic elements in
Session
OS-4B » Drinking Water (10:00 - Tuesday, 16th August, Larmor Theatre)
