A Closer Look at Rural-Urban Health Disparities: Associations Between Obesity and Rurality Vary by Geospatial and Sociodemographic Factors.

BACKGROUND: Obesity affects over one-third of older adults in the United States. Both aging and obesity contribute to an increased risk for chronic disease, early mortality, and additional health care utilization. Obesity rates are higher in rural areas than in urban areas, although findings are mixed. The objectives of this study are to assess potential nonlinearity in the association between rurality and obesity, and to evaluate the potential for socioeconomic status and geographic area to moderate the associations between rurality and obesity. METHODS: Using a representative sample of adults aged 65 and above from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 ) was modeled against the primary exposure of rural-urban status, as measured by the Index of Relative Rurality. Binary logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds of obesity by rurality both as a continuous variable and by decile of rurality. Models were then stratified by per-capita income and state to assess potential moderation by these factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity in older adults was highest in intermediate rurality areas (OR in rurality decile #5 1.134, 95% CI: 1.086-1.184) and lowest in the most rural and most urban areas. Obesity was highest in low- and middle-income areas, regardless of rural-urban status. In high-income areas, obesity among older adults was highest in areas of intermediate rurality and lowest in the most rural areas (OR 0.726, 95% CI: 0.606-0.870) and more urban areas, showing a J-shaped association. There were substantial differences in the associations between rurality and obesity in older adults among states. CONCLUSION: Associations between rurality and obesity varied by degree of rurality, socioeconomic status, and geography. Therefore, traditional "one-size-fits-all" approaches to reducing rural-urban health disparities in older adults may be more effective if tailored to the area-specific rural-urban gradients in health.

Challenges and barriers to health care and overall health in older residents of Alaska: evidence from a national survey.

BACKGROUND: From 1970 to 2010, the Alaskan population increased from 302,583 to 698,473. During that time, the growth rate of Alaskan seniors (65+) was 4 times higher than their national counterparts. Ageing in Alaska requires confronting unique environmental, sociodemographic and infrastructural challenges, including an extreme climate, geographical isolation and less developed health care infrastructure compared to the continental US. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this analysis is to compare the health needs of Alaskan seniors to those in the continental US. DESIGN: We abstracted 315,161 records of individuals age 65+ from the 2013 and 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, of which 1,852 were residents of Alaska. To compare residents of Alaska to residents of the 48 contiguous states we used generalized linear models which allowed us to adjust for demographic differences and survey weighting procedures. We examined 3 primary outcomes - general health status, health care coverage status and length of time since last routine check-up. RESULTS: Alaskan seniors were 59% less likely to have had a routine check-up in the past year and 12% less likely to report excellent health status than comparable seniors in the contiguous US. CONCLUSIONS: Given the growth rate of Alaskan seniors and inherent health care challenges this vulnerable population faces, future research should examine the specific pathways through which these disparities occur and inform policies to ensure that all US seniors, regardless of geographical location, have access to high-quality health services.