Consumption of Tap Water and Sociodemographic-Associated Characteristics: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.
Open accessPreprint — published as 10.3390/nu16070944
Abstract
Safe water is a global public health concern amid increasing scarcity and pollution. Bottled water production and consumption contribute to these problems. This study examines tap water consumption in Italy, assessing associated sociodemographic factors and related health outcomes such as obesity and self-perceived health status. Data from the Italian National Statistics Institute's "Aspects of daily life" survey (N=45,597) were analyzed. Covariates included education, age, gender, economic status, region, concerns about waste and climate change, consumption of carbonated drinks excluding water, alcohol consumption, consumption of vegetables, consumption of snacks, body mass index, and self-perceived health status. Bivariate analyses and mixed-effect logistic regression models explored the associations. People who drink tap water were 19,674 with a higher prevalence in people aged 45 to 59 old, people with a graduate/post-graduate degree diploma, with optimal economic resources, and concerned about waste production and climate change, coming from the North-East regions of Italy. Underweight people showed a higher prevalence of TW assumption as well as those who drink less than occasionally carbonated drinks, drink alcohol, consume vegetables more than once a day, and snacks less than once a week with a satisfying level perceived health status. Regressions showed that all age classes are less likely to drink tap water than people younger than 20 years old. The category with “inadequate” economic resources is more likely to consume tap water. Low educational classes show a low likelihood of consuming tap water as well as Islands. A concern about waste production and climate change is associated with an increased likelihood of assuming tap water. Tap water consumption was negatively associate with obesity but not with a satisfactory Self-perceived health status. Insights from this study can inform public health strategies.
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Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are small enough to enter the body's cells, tissues, and major organs and interfere with physiological molecular and biological processes.
“These particles, collectively called micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), are small enough to enter the body’s cells, tissues, and major organs and then interfere with physiological molecular and biological processes, such as protein structure [4] and cell membranes [5].”
From Consumption of Bottled Water and Chronic Diseases: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study (2024) · cites this paper as [5]
The Introduction (page not provided) mentions greater exposure to microplastics from bottled water than tap water. Searches for cell and organ entry, protein structure, and cell membranes found no passage in our copy addressing those effects. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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- Authors
- Dolcini, J., Chiavarini, M., Ponzio, E., Firmani, G., D'Errico, M. M., & Barbadoro, P.
- Affiliations
- Marche Polytechnic University (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Dolcini, Jacopo
- Venue
- Nutrients
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2024-02-19
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 944-944
- ISSN
- 2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11013857
- OpenAlex
- W4393142054
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 1.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Preprints.org (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Università Politecnica delle Marche (Università Politecnica delle Marche) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Florence Research (University of Florence) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Keywords
- tap water consumption, bottled water, sociodemographic factors, obesity, health perception, dietary habits, food consumption patterns, economic resources, Italy
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Animals, Cattle, Cross-Sectional Studies, Educational Status, Humans, Obesity, Sheep, Socioeconomic Factors, Water, Young Adult
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