Residential Environment and Mortality in the Lagos State of Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the operational factors of the indoor and outdoor residential environments in the Lagos State of Nigeria for their impact on the mortality of residents. Using a sixteen point index of outdoor and a twenty-eight point index of indoor residential environmental pressure, the deceased were scored one point depending on the existence of the index within the proximity of the residence. It was discovered that about 71.3% of the deceased were subjected to high or very high outdoor residential environmental pressure during their lifetime whereas about 91 % of them were subjected to high or very high indoor environmental pressure. Results show that the extent of outdoor residential environmental pressure depends on the locality of the deceased (i.e. whether such individual lived in a rural or urban local government area) and that there is no significant difference between indoor residential environmental pressure and the locality (urban or rural) of the deceased. Keywords : Outdoor, Indoor, Residential, Environment, Cardiovascular Ghana Journal of Development Studies Vol. 3 (2) 2006: pp. 83-98