Pub Date : 2026-03-12DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00023-x
Vincent P Roberdel, Ioulia V Ossokina, Jos van Ommeren, Theo A Arentze
Background
Many governments around the world subsidise upgrades to poorly insulated homes, yet the extent to which these energy-efficiency improvements reduce health risks remains unclear. We aimed to provide the first large-scale evidence on whether such retrofits lower the use of respiratory health-care services, particularly for children and other vulnerable individuals.
Methods
We leveraged a large-scale natural experiment in which public housing units across the Netherlands were retrofitted between 2012 and 2021. Upgrades included insulation and mechanical ventilation and were implemented in homes eligible on the basis of poor energy efficiency and construction before the early 1990s. Treatment assignment was based on technical factors and was therefore shown to be unrelated to health outcomes, and opting out was not possible. We followed up 2 million individuals over 10 years, totalling approximately 12 million person-years—a sample size that provided high statistical power (95% CIs narrow enough to detect relative risk changes in medication use as small as 1%). Individual-level medication data were obtained from health insurers. Medication use and other health-care outcomes among 180 000 tenants in retrofitted homes were compared with those in not-yet-retrofitted homes using a staggered difference-in-differences design with individual fixed effects. The primary outcomes were the use of prescription respiratory-system medications: asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drugs, cough remedies, and antihistamines.
Findings
Antihistamine use declined by 1·87% (95% CI 0·19–3·55; p=0·029) after retrofits. Among children younger than 18 years, respiratory medication use fell by 3·76% (1·04–6·48; p=0·0067). Specifically, after 5 years, asthma medication use was reduced by 6·91% (–0·04 to 13·85; p=0·051). No statistically significant effects were found for non-respiratory medication outcomes and health-care costs.
Interpretation
Energy-efficiency upgrades led to measurable reductions in respiratory medication use, especially for children. These benefits probably reflect reduced exposure to indoor dampness and bad air quality. Childhood asthma reduction is a crucial co-benefit of energy-efficiency home upgrades.
Funding
NWO Dutch Research Council, RVO Netherlands Enterprise Agency, and Villum Fonden.
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Pub Date : 2026-03-06DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00053-8
Mehrabi F, Pomeroy ML, Hoodendijk EO, et al. Rethinking health-care systems to tackle social isolation and frailty. Lancet Public Health 2026; published online Feb 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00324-X—In this Viewpoint, the third sentence of the Social isolation and frailty: intersecting public health challenges section should read “Social isolation affects one in four adults aged 60 years and older, and frailty affects an estimated 12–24% of adults aged 50 years and older globally.” These corrections have been made as of March 6, 2026.
{"title":"Correction to Lancet Public Health 2026; published online Feb 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00324-X","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00053-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00053-8","url":null,"abstract":"<em>Mehrabi F, Pomeroy ML, Hoodendijk EO, et al. Rethinking health-care systems to tackle social isolation and frailty.</em> Lancet Public Health <em>2026; published online Feb 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00324-X</em>—In this Viewpoint, the third sentence of the Social isolation and frailty: intersecting public health challenges section should read “Social isolation affects one in four adults aged 60 years and older, and frailty affects an estimated 12–24% of adults aged 50 years and older globally.” These corrections have been made as of March 6, 2026.","PeriodicalId":56027,"journal":{"name":"Lancet Public Health","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147368047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-25DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00047-2
{"title":"Correction to Lancet Public Health 2026; 11: e176–86","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00047-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00047-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56027,"journal":{"name":"Lancet Public Health","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00029-0
{"title":"Correction to Lancet Public Health 2025; 10: e903–11","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00029-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00029-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56027,"journal":{"name":"Lancet Public Health","volume":"417 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00022-8
Alexander J Fowler, Tom E F Abbott, Ewen M Harrison, Michael Gillies, John R Prowle, David Cromwell, Rupert M Pearse
{"title":"Long-term outcomes for patients at high risk of death after surgery in the UK: a retrospective cohort study","authors":"Alexander J Fowler, Tom E F Abbott, Ewen M Harrison, Michael Gillies, John R Prowle, David Cromwell, Rupert M Pearse","doi":"10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00022-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00022-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56027,"journal":{"name":"Lancet Public Health","volume":"78 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00021-6
Lauren A Gardner, Siobhan O'Dean, Matthew Sunderland, Maree Teesson, Katrina E Champion, Emily Stockings, Nicola C Newton
{"title":"Baseline imbalance and convergent endpoints in the OurFutures Vaping trial – Authors' reply","authors":"Lauren A Gardner, Siobhan O'Dean, Matthew Sunderland, Maree Teesson, Katrina E Champion, Emily Stockings, Nicola C Newton","doi":"10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00021-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00021-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56027,"journal":{"name":"Lancet Public Health","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(25)00322-6
Aurelio Tobias, Yasushi Honda, Lina Madaniyazi, Barrak Alhamad, Erik Lavigne, Dominic Roye, Shilu Tong, Micheline de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, Veronica Huber, Ales Urban, Susana das Neves Pereira da Silva, Souzana Achilleos, Robbie M Parks, Carmen Iñiguez, Pierre Masselot, Ana M Vicedo-Cabrera, Ben Armstrong, Antonio Gasparrini, Masahiro Hashizume, Rosana Abrutzky, Souzana Achilleos, Fiorella Acquaotta, Barrak Alahmad, Ben Armstrong, Hanne Krage-Carlsen, Gabriel Carrasco, Paul Lester Carlos Chua, Micheline de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, Valentina Colistro, Susana das Neves Pereira da Silva, Francesca d e'Donato, Bertil Forsberg, Antonio Gasparrini, Yue Leon Guo, Yuming Guo, Iván Gutierrez-Avila, Masahiro Hashizume, Iulian-Horia Holobaca, Yasushi Honda, Veronika Huber, Magali Hurtado Diaz, Carmen Íñiguez, Haidong Kan, Ho Kim, Yoonhee Kim, Wissanupong Kliengchuay, Jan Kyselý, Eric Lavigne, Whanhee Lee, Yuanyu Lu, Lina Madaniyazi, Joana Madureira, Pierre Masselot, Patricia Matus Correa, Paola Michelozzi, Chris Fook Sheng Ng, Samuel Osorio, Ala Overcenco, Shih-Chun Pan, Robin Park, Robbie M. Parks, Mathilde Pascal, Martina S. Ragettl, Dominic Roye, Paulo Hilario Nascimento Saldiva, Alexandra Schneider, Joel Schwartz, Noah Scovronick, Xerxes Seposo, Francesco Sera, Muhammad Abdul Basit Ahmad Tajudin, Kraichat Tantrakarnapa, Aurelio Tobias, Shilu Tong, Aleš Urban, Nicolás Valdés Ortega, Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera, Antonella Zanobetti
{"title":"Variation in reporting of heatstroke mortality: evidence from a multi-country study","authors":"Aurelio Tobias, Yasushi Honda, Lina Madaniyazi, Barrak Alhamad, Erik Lavigne, Dominic Roye, Shilu Tong, Micheline de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, Veronica Huber, Ales Urban, Susana das Neves Pereira da Silva, Souzana Achilleos, Robbie M Parks, Carmen Iñiguez, Pierre Masselot, Ana M Vicedo-Cabrera, Ben Armstrong, Antonio Gasparrini, Masahiro Hashizume, Rosana Abrutzky, Souzana Achilleos, Fiorella Acquaotta, Barrak Alahmad, Ben Armstrong, Hanne Krage-Carlsen, Gabriel Carrasco, Paul Lester Carlos Chua, Micheline de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, Valentina Colistro, Susana das Neves Pereira da Silva, Francesca d e'Donato, Bertil Forsberg, Antonio Gasparrini, Yue Leon Guo, Yuming Guo, Iván Gutierrez-Avila, Masahiro Hashizume, Iulian-Horia Holobaca, Yasushi Honda, Veronika Huber, Magali Hurtado Diaz, Carmen Íñiguez, Haidong Kan, Ho Kim, Yoonhee Kim, Wissanupong Kliengchuay, Jan Kyselý, Eric Lavigne, Whanhee Lee, Yuanyu Lu, Lina Madaniyazi, Joana Madureira, Pierre Masselot, Patricia Matus Correa, Paola Michelozzi, Chris Fook Sheng Ng, Samuel Osorio, Ala Overcenco, Shih-Chun Pan, Robin Park, Robbie M. Parks, Mathilde Pascal, Martina S. Ragettl, Dominic Roye, Paulo Hilario Nascimento Saldiva, Alexandra Schneider, Joel Schwartz, Noah Scovronick, Xerxes Seposo, Francesco Sera, Muhammad Abdul Basit Ahmad Tajudin, Kraichat Tantrakarnapa, Aurelio Tobias, Shilu Tong, Aleš Urban, Nicolás Valdés Ortega, Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera, Antonella Zanobetti","doi":"10.1016/s2468-2667(25)00322-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(25)00322-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56027,"journal":{"name":"Lancet Public Health","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00020-4
Edward Jegasothy
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Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00010-1
Amy Lastuka, A J Mitchell, Ian E Cogswell, Jeremy Dalos, Golsum Tsakalos, Andrei Oros, Serena Santoni, Xaviera Steele, Kayla V Taylor, Salomé Drouard, Joseph L Dieleman, Angela E Apeagyei
{"title":"Estimating the costs of informal care for individuals with brain health disorders from 2000 to 2021: a modelling study","authors":"Amy Lastuka, A J Mitchell, Ian E Cogswell, Jeremy Dalos, Golsum Tsakalos, Andrei Oros, Serena Santoni, Xaviera Steele, Kayla V Taylor, Salomé Drouard, Joseph L Dieleman, Angela E Apeagyei","doi":"10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00010-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00010-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56027,"journal":{"name":"Lancet Public Health","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00019-8
Colin Angus
{"title":"Not all alcohol policies are created equal","authors":"Colin Angus","doi":"10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00019-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(26)00019-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56027,"journal":{"name":"Lancet Public Health","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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