Please help us improve PreventionWeb by taking this brief survey Your input will allow us to better serve the needs of the DRR community See the survey In May 2024 Brazil's State of Rio Grande do Sul was struck by catastrophic floods The city of Veranópolis was one of the affected towns - and our Risk Management Plan set up as part of its implementation of MCR2030 resilience building the city established the Veranópolis Resilient City Program guided by the ten steps proposed by UNDRR's Making Cities Resilient initiative we had formulated a Risk Management Plan (RMP) to identify potential risks The plan included a study which identified landslides and flooding as high-risk threats to the municipality Unprecedented flooding hit the State In May 2024, heavy rains hit the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, causing the largest flood in the history of the State, surpassing the historic flood of 1941. As a result, 461 of the State's 497 municipalities were badly affected 41 of these were in a state of public calamity Several cities in the state were completely inundated, leaving 77 202 people homeless and 540 188 displaced blocking the main access road to the capital at several points the Veranópolis public pulled together to execute our Risk Management Plan demonstrating the real benefits of our efforts to make our city resilient we had mapped the places where landslides occur to guide residents of susceptible areas - particularly those where there had been land clearance- and built retaining walls and drainage in the mapped locations we observed that in those places in the municipality where retaining and drainage walls were built with the accumulated rainfall of 728.4mm in nine days we found new places where it was necessary to improve landslide-prevention infrastructure - including along the main access road we carried out the RMP's social and operational plan The plan included several elements to ensure social well-being: The city also operationalized its contingency plans and Department of Government to establish order we realized there was a need to create a crisis committee with the proper attributions and hierarchy and to set up a group of volunteers duly registered and trained for each function to be performed the city acted decisively in response to Civil Defense calls communication difficulties arose due to disrupted telephone signals necessitating the use of radio transmitters Operating machinery in areas inundated with water or impeded by landslides also presented significant challenges report and provide evidence of all incidents There is still a need to expand operational indicators and establish monitoring bulletins to keep the population routinely informed The floods in May 2024 showed us that Veranópolis still has some way to go on our path to resilience We need to further develop our municipal management and organization capacities before and after adverse events and natural threats As an MCR2030-certified resilient city truly committed to sustainable urbanization Veranópolis stood out for its mitigation efforts during the disaster- largely because we had followed the MCR2023 guidelines for urban resilience Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) is a unique cross-stakeholder initiative for improving local resilience through advocacy establishing mutually reinforcing city-to-city learning networks connecting multiple layers of government and building partnerships Through delivering a clear 3-stage roadmap to urban resilience access to knowledge and monitoring and reporting tools MCR2030 support cities on their journey to reduce risk and build resilience Make your city resilient now Fabiane Parise is the Municipal Secretary of Social Development Housing and Longevity and Veranópolis' Civil Defense Coordinator He has a degree in Hospital Administration with a specialization in Health Auditing and Public Health Management Please note: Content is displayed as last posted by a PreventionWeb community member or editor. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of UNDRR, PreventionWeb, or its sponsors. See our terms of use Thank you. If you have 2 minutes, we would benefit from additional feedback (link opens in a new window) PreventionWeb is the global knowledge sharing platform for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience Metrics details The older population has an increasing burden of non-communicable disease which can potentially be associated with physical and mental disabilities and shorten life spam loss of functionality for activities of daily living and lower social support are associated with all-cause mortality in the older population of Italian descent This population-based cohort study was conducted in Veranópolis Interviews were performed in a systematic random sampling regarding demographic in addition to depression (Geriatric Depression Scale) activities of daily living (Barthel Index) and social support (Medical Outcomes Study scale) Hierarchical analysis was used to determine characteristics independently associated with all-cause mortality using Poisson regression with robust variance expressed as relative risk with 95% confidence intervals (RR; 95%CI) A total of 997 participants were enrolled and 882 participants completed the study after 7.24 ± 2.41 years; with 581 remaining alive Symptoms of depression (RR: 1.04; 1.01–1.06) and functional dependence for ADL (RR: 1.00; 0.99–1.00) were associated with all-cause mortality even after controlling for confounding factors Lower social support was not associated with mortality (RR: 1.00; 0.99–1.01) Depression and functional dependence are independent predictors of all-cause mortality in the older population from Italian descent enhancing the feeling of belonging to the community Although the mechanisms are not fully established the effect of these risk factors when unmitigated by full social connections and socioeconomic status compatible with one’s needs should be investigated This city was founded by Italian immigrants who came to Brazil during the immigration period and maintains traditions of closeness and friendly relationships Given the dearth of studies on this topic conducted in the older population from middle-income countries this cohort study was designed to investigate independent associations of depression functionality for activities of daily living and lower social support with all-cause mortality in the population into their sixties and beyond This population-based cohort study included individuals aged 60 years or older living in the town of Veranópolis certified as one of the Age-friendly cities and communities by the World Health Organization Participants were selected through a systematic random sampling of all individuals aged 60 years or older residing in the municipality The only exclusion criterion would be not residing in the municipality enrolled participants were interviewed regarding characteristics potentially associated with the decision to have the influenza vaccine as well as past medical history and demographic Participants were selected by systematic random sampling from a record of all individuals aged 60 years or older living in the municipality participants were assessed between June 2017 and March 2018 the investigators sought to locate all participants interviewed at baseline through telephone calls contacting neighbors or the next of kin informed in the application and making on-site visits to any secondary or additional addresses which participants might have provided in the hospital record Participants were scheduled to undergo an interview as well as measurements and specimen collection for laboratory tests The next of kin of participants who had died between baseline and follow-up were contacted to obtain information through a verbal autopsy All experiments were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations and that the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines were followed This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre (GPPG number: 170241) which is accredited by the Office of Human Research Protections as an Institutional Review Board Written informed consent was provided from all participants or their next of kin and interviews with attending physicians were used to outline the events surrounding death All deaths that occurred between January 1 was administered and categorized to identify individuals as totally independent (100 points) or dependent (< 100) for least one ADL The 80th percentile (scores > 88) was also used to identify lower social support Variables considered potential risk or protection factors were: sex education (years at school; categorized as 0–4 smoking status (categorized as never smoker alcohol intake (categorized as abusive consumption if daily intake ≥ 2 units for men or ≥ 1 unit for women or spirits (dose); social consumption for a daily intake of < 2 or < 1 unit participation in group activities (religious group sports team; categorized as present for those who were involved in at least one group) and previous diagnosis of heart disease or cancer Sample size calculation was based on the association between Barthel Index and mortality assuming that functionally dependent older individuals would have a 50% risk of dying during the follow-up period versus 30% in those who were independent considering an exposed–to-unexposed ratio of 12:9 and a 95% confidence level (95%CI) A sample of 800 participants would be needed to ensure statistical power > 95% (EPIDAT; PAHO Hierarchical model of factors associated with mortality in older adults Among participants potentially eligible at baseline, 10.48% were not found, 1.06% refused to participate, and 0.70% died before they could be interviewed, resulting in 997 participants enrolled (Fig. 2). After 7.24 ± 2.41 years of follow-up, 882 (88.46%) were interviewed and 115 (11.53%) had been lost: 67 were not found, 36 refused to participate, and 12 moved out of town. Table 1 shows that participants were aged 73.1 ± 8.0 years on average Most participants were non-smokers; more than half consumed alcoholic beverages and engaged in physical activity on a daily basis 83.90% were independent for ADLs and most had some type of social support As shown in Table 2 sex and age were strongly associated with mortality even after controlling for biological confounding factors not having a partner remained as an independent risk factor but educational attainment and retirement lost statistical significance after controlling for biological and socioeconomic variables smoking remained associated with mortality even after taking into account traditional risk factors while consumption of alcoholic beverages and participation in group activities were protective factors Previous diagnosis of heart disease or cancer was an independent risk factor for mortality even after controlling for multiple traditional risk factors the risk of mortality increased 8% per additional point on the GDS score decreasing to 4% in the model adjusted for biological Lower scores on the Barthel Index suggested greater risk of dying and controlling for other risk factors did not substantially reduce the risk Lower social support was not associated with mortality Table 3 shows correlations between the GDS All dimensions of social support were found to be negatively correlated with the depression scale and social interaction support that older people receive there was no statistically significant correlation between the Barthel Index and social support insufficiently mitigated by protective factors the independence of the association between mortality and symptoms of depression indicates an increase in overall risk that is not completely mediated by these traditional risk factors or by loss of functionality for ADL in the population of older adults observed in this cohort symptoms of depression and loss of functionality for ADL are independent predictors of higher mortality these aspects should be considered as part of the assessment and promotion of health in the older population The data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author [SCF] Reducing the global burden of cardiovascular disease and national burden of cardiovascular diseases for 10 causes Age-specific relevance of usual blood pressure to vascular mortality: A meta-analysis of individual data for one million adults in 61 prospective studies Trends in all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality among women and men with and without diabetes mellitus in the Framingham Heart Study Lifetime smoking history and cause-specific mortality in a cohort study with 43 years of follow-up Recommended physical activity and all cause and cause specific mortality in US adults: Prospective cohort study Is the cardioprotective effect of alcohol real? Traditional and emerging lifestyle risk behaviors and all-cause mortality in middle-aged and older adults: Evidence from a large population-based australian cohort Risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the very elderly: Results of a cohort study in a city in southern Brazil Sleep duration and mortality in the elderly: A systematic review with meta-analysis Relationship of having hobbies and a purpose in life with mortality and instrumental activities of daily living among community-dwelling elderly adults Lifestyle factors related to mortality and survival: A mini-review and catastrophic health expenditure by socioeconomic groups in China: An analysis of population-based panel data Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review Depression and excess mortality in the elderly living in low- and middle-income countries: Systematic review and meta-analysis The effect of multimorbidity on functional limitations and depression amongst middle-aged and older population in China: A nationwide longitudinal study Development and validation of a geriatric screening scale Reliability of the Brazilian version of the abbreviated form of Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) short form Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS): Analysis of the psychometric properties via item response theory The role of conceptual frameworks in epidemiological analysis: A hierarchical approach Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) Study Investigators Association of symptoms of depression with cardiovascular disease and mortality in low- Observational study of the differential impact of time-varying depressive symptoms on all-cause and cause-specific mortality by health status in community-dwelling adults: The REGARDS study The association of depressive symptoms with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in Central and Eastern Europe: Prospective results of the HAPIEE study and genetics in the elderly: Prognostic factors of a worse health condition? All-cause mortality risk in elderly individuals with disabilities: A retrospective observational study Perceived social support trajectories and the all-cause mortality risk of older mexican american women and men Lonely in a crowd: Investigating the association between overcrowding and loneliness using smartphone technologies Positive mental attitude associated with lower 35-year mortality: The leisure world cohort study Migrant health in Italy: A better health status difficult to maintain-country of origin and assimilation effects studied from the Italian risk factor surveillance data Comparison of psychosocial variables associated with loneliness in centenarian vs elderly populations in New Zealand Download references We would like to thank to the older population of Veranópolis who have been cooperative and enthusiastic with research projects; to the research team who undertook the data collection and to the administrative staff of the International Longevity Centre (ILC-BR) This study was partially supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq 309023/2015-7) and the Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa do Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre (FIPE-GPPG number: 170241) supported with a publication grant 5º and Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre contributed to the acquisition of the data All authors critically revised the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of work The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32617-1 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Registration has been successfully completed Make a new account if you don't have one yet Puedes ver la versión Española de BeSoccer.com You can see the English version of BeSoccer.com Vous pouvez voir la version French de BeSoccer.com Puoi vedere la versione Italian su BeSoccer.com Você pode ver a versão Brasileira de BeSoccer.com.