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Future climate projections for the Mediterranean area point out to an important increase in temperature during this century, independently on the considered emission scenario. This projected increase will have a significant impact on temperature-related climate indices, such as heating and cooling degree-days, and also, the economic costs to maintain climate comfort within buildings, especially for summer. These indices are key outside temperature-based indices to evaluate the energy consumption of buildings. In this work, a very high spatial resolution database for heating (HDD) and cooling degree-days (CDD) has been performed from different temperature data: The network of automatic weather station from the Meteorological Service of Catalonia from 2006 to 2015 (138 stations in 32,000 km2), and non-automatic weather station data from 1971 to 2015. It has been taking as a baseline 15 and 18 °C for HDD, and 21 and 25 °C as thresholds for CDD. Data from automatic weather stations allow us to compute these indices with a high temporal accuracy (hourly or sub-hourly time scales), but they are only available with a highly-dense network for the last few 15 years. Otherwise, data from non-automatic weather stations allows us to analyse a wider temporal coverage, but only with daily-mean temperature data. Thus, in areas with a complex topography, as it is the case of Catalonia, important differences at annual scale can appear when computing HDD and CDD from daily or hourly-mean values, especially for zones prone to thermal inversion situations. Hourly data leads to increase HDD and CDD for each considered threshold. The differences among them reach annual-mean values higher than 200 ºC-days for heating degree-days and 150 ºC-days for cooling degree-days. Taking into account statistically downscaled climate projections at 1-km spatial resolution from 3 IPCC-AR5 global climate simulations forced by RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenarios, it is expected a significant decrease in HDD for the Pyrenees, up to 2000-2400 ºC-days in 2100, for 15 and 18 ºC thresholds, respectively. Meanwhile, it is projected an important increase in CDD for the Ebro Valley, up to 400-600 ºC-days in 2100, for 25 and 21 ºC thresholds, respectively.

Historically, most precipitation data have been measured by collecting rainfall, usually at intervals of 24 h, with a fixed starting time. Nonetheless, it is known that the use of fixed time intervals to measure rainfall quantities could lead to an underestimation of the true maximum precipitation amounts for the considered duration, so a single multiplicative correction factor is commonly applied, generally without taking into account the rainfall pattern of the place, nor regional or seasonal considerations. In the present work, hourly measurements from 120 stations of Catalonia (northeast of the Iberian Peninsula) have been used to analyse how the ratio between rainfall amounts measured by fixed and unrestricted intervals, i.e. the correction factor, depends on the considered duration and on the specific starting time of the fixed interval (local 00:00, 08:00, 12:00 or 16:00), as well as the influence ofgeographical location and seasonality and actual rainfall duration. For fixed sampling intervals starting at 16:00, the mean correction factor has been found to be higher (1.137) than at the usual 08:00 starting time (1.129). Some geographical patterns of the correction factor over Catalonia arose which, moreover, depend on the season, with a mean value of 1.161 in spring and a value of 1.093 in summer. Also, the value of the correction has been found to increase with the actual duration of the maximum rainfall events used in the analysis. Some of these extreme events had actual mesoscale durations between 6 and 9 h, linked to highly convective mesoscale organisations acting mainly in summer and the beginning of autumn. Other maxima episodes, with more advective rainfall lasting more than 12 h registered in the northern area of the territory, presented the highest values of the correction factor, especially in spring.

Background: The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of visual impairment and visual care practices and its association with socioeconomic conditions in the infant population in Catalonia. Methods: The Catalan Institute of Statistics provided a random sample of 0 to 14-year-old non-institutionalized children whose parents were interviewed in a continuous health survey from 2011 to 2015 in Catalonia. A multistage stratified and random sampling procedure considering age, sex, county and town was followed. All results have been weighted according to the sample design and are presented as the proportion of the condition with its 95% confidence limits. Chi-square tests were performed to evaluate the association between categorical variables. To study the association of visual care with independent variables, a multiple logistic regression model was used. Results: In 0 to 14-year-old children, a 12.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] [11.8–13.9]) prevalence of correctable visual impairment was observed. The prevalence of non-correctable visual impairment was 0.9% (95% CI [0.6–1.2]). Noncorrectable visual impairment was more prevalent in families with lower education levels, manual professions or unemployed. Of children without visual impairment, 13,5% (95% CI:12.3–14.6) visited a visual care professional in the last 12 months while this proportion was 67.4% (95% CI [63.3–71.5]) among those with correctable visual impairment. When parents have a university degree or non-manual professions, a higher level of visual care was observed. In children with correctable visual impairment, visual reviews were more frequent when parents are employed in a non-manual profession. Conclusions: For the first time, indicators related to visual impairment in children in Catalonia have been recorded. There is an association between lower socioeconomic status and having non-correctable visual impairment, and conversely, having correctable visual impairment was significantly associated with employed parents. More visual care is associated with higher socioeconomic status.

The quality control of weather data is a necessity and a responsibility of meteorological services that store, distribute, and use these data. In the present work, a newly designed quality control procedure for daily rainfall data is presented after it has been adjusted and tested with more than 10^7 data from 1726 daily rainfall measurement sites in Catalonia. It is applicable to data from different origins (e.g., automatic weather stations or manual historical measurements). The procedure is focused on relative comparison of daily data with reference stations that are automatically selected after an initial estimation of their quality and a proximity study regarding location and correlation. The presented procedure has been verified taking advantage of an available network in the study area that has been routinely quality controlled by technicians of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia. The newly designed quality control procedure for daily precipitation yields good results, especially for extreme values: type I error under 10% is found for values up to 150 mm (error decreasing for lower values) and type II error is under 16% when reported values are twice a measure of 50 mm or more (error decreasing for more extreme values). After the application of the quality control procedure, a selection of series with the minimum desired quality is achieved.

Background In high-income countries, the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment is higher among women, regardless of age although the mechanisms that produce these gender inequalities are not well understood. The objectives of this study were to analyse gender inequalities in the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment, age of onset, diagnosed and undiagnosed status and related eye diseases among visually impaired individuals. Methods Data were obtained from the 2008 Spanish Survey on ‘Disability, Personal Autonomy and Dependency Situations’ (n = 213 626) participants 360 blind (160 men and 200 women), and 5560 with some visual impairment (2025 men and 3535 women). The prevalence of blindness and visual impairment, age of onset of visual impairment and diagnosed and undiagnosed eye diseases was calculated. Hierarchical multiple logistic regression models were fit to test gender differences. Results Women were more likely to report visual impairment (crude OR = 1.6 [95% CI: 1.56–1.74]). Prevalence of diagnosed cataract was higher among visually impaired women (crude OR = 1.4 [95% CI: 1.25–1.67]) whereas undiagnosed eye disease (crude OR = 0.7 [95% CI: 0.64–0.81]) or diagnosed glaucoma (aORsex = 0.8 [95% CI: 0.65–0.93]) were more frequent among visually impairment men. These associations were not explained by age or educational level. Conclusions Strong gender inequalities were observed, with a higher prevalence of visual impairment and related cataracts among women, which could be related to gender inequalities in access to health care, and undiagnosed eye disease and related glaucoma among men, which could be related to their gender socialization resulting in less frequent and effectively use of health care services.

As well as in other natural processes, it has been frequently observed that the phenomenon arising from the rainfall generation process presents fractal self-similarity of statistical type, and thus, rainfall series generally show scaling properties. Based on this fact, there is a methodology, simple scaling, which is used quite broadly to find or reproduce the intensity–duration–frequency curves of a place. In the present work, the relationship of the simple scaling parameter with the characteristic rainfall pattern of the area of study has been investigated. The calculation of this scaling parameter has been performed from 147 daily rainfall selected series covering the temporal period between 1883 and 2016 over the Catalonian territory (Spain) and its nearby surroundings, and a discussion about the relationship between the scaling parameter spatial distribution and rainfall pattern, as well as about trends of this scaling parameter over the past decades possibly due to climate change, has been presented.

Objectives The objectives of this study were to examine for the first time the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness among adults in Spain, to explore regional differences, and to assess whether they may vary as a function of sex or be explained by age and individual or regional socioeconomic position. Design Data were obtained from the 2008 Spanish Survey on Disability, Personal Autonomy, and Dependency Situations, a cross-sectional survey based on a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized population of Spain. Participants The sample was composed of 213 626 participants aged ≥15 years (103 093 men and 110 533 women); 360 were blind (160 men and 200 women), 4048 had near visual impairment (1397 men and 2651 women), and 4034 had distance visual impairment (1445 men and 2589 women). Methods The prevalence of near and distance visual impairment was calculated for each region. Multiple logistic regression models were fitted to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. All analyses were stratified by sex. Main Outcome Measures Visual impairment was based on 3 questions aimed at identifying blindness and near and distance visual impairment. Results The prevalence (percentage) of blindness was 0.17 (men, 0.16; women, 0.18): 1.89 for near visual impairment (men, 1.36; women, 2.40), 1.89 for distance visual impairment (men, 1.40; women, 2.34), and 2.43 for any visual impairment (men, 1.81; women, 3.02). Regional inequalities in the prevalence of visual impairment were observed, correlated with regional income, and the prevalence was consistently higher among women than men. The magnitude of the inequalities remained after adjusting for age and educational level, and a north-to-south pattern of increasing prevalence was observed. Conclusions Regional and sex inequalities in the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness were observed in Spain, with a north-to-south gradient of increasing prevalence that was not explained by age or individual educational level but was correlated with regional level of economic development. Factors that could be prioritized for future policies and research include differential regional economic development, rural environment, quality of eye care services, diabetes, ultraviolet light exposure, or gender inequalities in diagnostic and therapeutic health care.

El objetivo de este artículo es determinar la prevalencia de defectos visuales en Cataluña y analizar las desigualdades en visión. Estudio transversal en población ≥ 15 años de edad (7.881 hombres y 8.045 mujeres) a partir de los datos de la Encuesta de Salud de Cataluña de 2006. Se usaron modelos de regresión logística para calcular las odds ratio ajustadas por edad, estado civil, nivel de estudios, nivel de ingresos y situación laboral con un intervalo de confianza (IC) del 95%. El 4,7% (IC del 95%, 4,4-5,0) de la población de Cataluña,/nel 5,3% (IC del 95%, 4,8-5,8) de las mujeres y el 4,1% (IC del 95%, 3,7-4,5) de los hombres, declara tener mala visión. Las situaciones más desfavorables de mala visión autodeclarada por la población catalana corresponden a los ancianos y las mujeres con menores niveles tanto de estudios como de ingresos The aim of this work is to determine the prevalence of visual impairment in Catalonia and analyze inequalities in vision. Cross sectional study in the population having ≥15 years of age (7,881 men and 8,045 women) based on data from the Encuesta de Salud de Cataluña 2006. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the adjusted odds ratio by age, civil state, level of studies, income and working situation with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%. A 4.7% (CI 95% 4.4-5.0) of the population of Catalonia, a 5.3% of female (CI 95% 4.8-5.8), and 4.1% of men (CI 95% 3.7-4.5) state that they have poor vision. The most unfavourable situations of self-reported poor vision by the Catalan population correspond to the elderly and women with lower levels of both studies and income

The main objective of this study is to determine the maximum daily precipitation in Catalonia for several established return periods with a high spatial resolution. For this purpose, the maximum daily rainfall annual series from 145 pluviometric stations of the Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INM) (Spanish Weather Service) in Catalonia have been analyzed. Using the L-moments method of Hosking, every series has been fitted by the extreme value distribution function of Gumbel. From this fitting, the maximum daily precipitation for each of the pluviometric stations corresponding to return periods between 2 and 500 years, have been determined. Applying the Cressman method, the spatial analysis of these values has been achieved. Monthly precipitation climatological data, obtained from the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, have been used as the initial field for the analysis. The maximum daily precipitation at 1 km2 spatial resolution on Catalonia has been objectively determined by the method employed, and structures with wavelength longer than approximately 35 km can be identified. The results show that places where the maximum daily precipitation values are expected are the zone of Guilleries in the Transversal Range, in the highest zones of the Catalan Pyrenees and Cape Creus zone at the northeastern end of Catalonia and in the south, around the Prelittoral Mountain Range between the Mountains of Prades and Montsia. A good fit between the distribution of minimum values and the driest Catalan areas has been found, the lowest values being on the western end of the Central Basin. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society.

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00704-015-1476-0 Relationship between maximum rainfall rates for time intervals between 5 minutes and 24 hours has been studied from almost a century (1905-2003) of rainfall data registered in the Ebre Observatory (Tarragona, Spain). Intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves and its master equation for every return period in the location have been obtained, as well as the probable maximum precipitation (PMP) for all the considered durations. In particular, the value of the 1-day PMP has resulted 415 mm, very similar to previous estimations of this variable for the same location. Extreme rainfall events recorded in this period have been analyzed and classified according to their temporal scale. Besides the three main classes of cases corresponding to the main meteorological scales, local, mesoscale and synoptic, a fourth group constituted by complex events with high intense rates for a large range of durations has been identified also, indicating the contribution of different scale meteorological processes acting together in the origin of the rainfall. A weighted intensity index taking into account the maximum rainfall rate in representative durations of every meteorological scale has been calculated for every extreme rainfall event in order to reflect their complexity.

To analyze the distribution of visual problems which cause and do not cause visual impairment in a working population, and their relation to social class.This was a cross-sectional study of 86,831 employed workers (59,397 men, and 27,421 women) in Catalonia ages 16 to 65 years who, in 2009, underwent health surveillance exams at the Asepeyo Health Prevention. The prevalence of visual problems that cause and do not cause visual impairment was calculated by age, sex and occupational social class, and associations were analyzed using logistic regression.2.2% (95% CI 2.1-2.3) of the active working population studied had vision problems that cause visual impairment, even while wearing corrective lenses. After adjusting for age, workers in Class V show a 2.4-fold greater risk of visual impairment than those in Class I.Women, older workers and disadvantaged social groups showed the highest prevalence and risk of visual impairment. Conversely, problems resolved by vision correction that do not cause visual impairment are concentrated in non-manual workers.

The objectives of this study were to examine for the first time the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness among adults in Spain, to explore regional differences, and to assess whether they may vary as a function of sex or be explained by age and individual or regional socioeconomic position.Data were obtained from the 2008 Spanish Survey on Disability, Personal Autonomy, and Dependency Situations, a cross-sectional survey based on a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized population of Spain.The sample was composed of 213 626 participants aged ≥15 years (103 093 men and 110 533 women); 360 were blind (160 men and 200 women), 4048 had near visual impairment (1397 men and 2651 women), and 4034 had distance visual impairment (1445 men and 2589 women).The prevalence of near and distance visual impairment was calculated for each region. Multiple logistic regression models were fitted to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. All analyses were stratified by sex.Visual impairment was based on 3 questions aimed at identifying blindness and near and distance visual impairment.The prevalence (percentage) of blindness was 0.17 (men, 0.16; women, 0.18): 1.89 for near visual impairment (men, 1.36; women, 2.40), 1.89 for distance visual impairment (men, 1.40; women, 2.34), and 2.43 for any visual impairment (men, 1.81; women, 3.02). Regional inequalities in the prevalence of visual impairment were observed, correlated with regional income, and the prevalence was consistently higher among women than men. The magnitude of the inequalities remained after adjusting for age and educational level, and a north-to-south pattern of increasing prevalence was observed.Regional and sex inequalities in the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness were observed in Spain, with a north-to-south gradient of increasing prevalence that was not explained by age or individual educational level but was correlated with regional level of economic development. Factors that could be prioritized for future policies and research include differential regional economic development, rural environment, quality of eye care services, diabetes, ultraviolet light exposure, or gender inequalities in diagnostic and therapeutic health care.

The aim of this work is to determine the prevalence of visual impairment in Catalonia and analyze inequalities in vision. Cross sectional study in the population having ≥ 15 years of age (7,881 men and 8,045 women) based on data from the Encuesta de Salud de Cataluña 2006. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the adjusted odds ratio by age, civil state, level of studies, income and working situation with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%. A 4.7% (CI 95% 4.4-5.0) of the population of Catalonia, a 5.3% of female (CI 95% 4.8-5.8), and 4.1% of men (CI 95% 3.7-4.5) state that they have poor vision. The most unfavourable situations of self-reported poor vision by the Catalan population correspond to the elderly and women with lower levels of both studies and income.

Health inequities are related to social determinants based on gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, living in a specific geographic region, or having a specific health condition. Such inequities were reviewed for blindness and visual impairment by searching for studies on the subject in PubMed from 2000 to 2011 in the English and Spanish languages. The goal of this article is to provide a current review in understanding how inequities based specifically on the aforementioned social determinants on health influence the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness. With regards to gender inequality, women have a higher prevalence of visual impairment and blindness, which cannot be only reasoned based on age or access to service. Socioeconomic status measured as higher income, higher educational status, or non-manual occupational social class was inversely associated with prevalence of blindness or visual impairment. Ethnicity and race were associated with visual impairment and blindness, although there is general confusion over this socioeconomic position determinant. Geographic inequalities and visual impairment were related to income (of the region, nation or continent), living in a rural area, and an association with socioeconomic and political context was suggested. While inequalities related to blindness and visual impairment have rarely been specifically addressed in research, there is still evidence of the association of social determinants and prevalence of blindness and visual impairment. Additional research should be done on the associations with intermediary determinants and socioeconomic and political context.

Purpose. To determine whether types of optical correction for refractive error are associated with sex, social class, and occupational group in the working population. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out among employees in Catalonia (Spain) aged 16 to 65 years who underwent the Asepeyo Prevention Society health examination in 2009 (86,831 participants: 59,397 men and 27,421 women). The type and purpose of refractive correction used were self-reported, as were sociodemographic variables; visual acuity with habitual correction was also measured. We performed descriptive and logistic regression analyses to evaluate the prevalence and type of correction used for refractive error as a function of age, sex, social class, and occupational group. Results. Forty-six percent (95% confidence interval [CI] = 45.6 to 46.3) of individuals in this sample were users of optical correction for refractive error. Use of optical correction was more common among women than among men (54.8 and 41.9%, respectively) and especially among women aged 55 to 64 years (91.8%). Nonmanual (class I) workers were three times more likely to use optical correction than manual (class V) workers (odds ratio = 3.02; 95% CI = 2.82 to 3.24). Individuals in technical, administrative, or intellectual occupations were more likely to wear optical correction than unskilled professionals. Conclusions. The use of visual correction is more prevalent among women than among men, especially in older individuals. The use of optical correction is more common among more advantaged social groups and is associated with particular occupations. (Optom Vis Sci 2014;91:00Y00)