Cumulative Experience of Neighborhood Walkability and Change in Weight and Waist Circumference in REGARDS.

Neighborhood walkability-features of the built environment that promote pedestrian activity-has been associated with greater physical activity and lower body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight (kg)/height (m)2) among neighborhood residents. However, much of the literature has been cross-sectional and only a few cohort studies have assessed neighborhood features throughout follow-up. Using data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke Study (2003-2016) and a neighborhood walkability index (NWI) measured annually during follow-up, we assessed whether the cumulative experience of neighborhood walkability (NWI-years) predicted BMI and waist circumference after approximately 10 years of follow-up, controlling for these anthropometric measures at enrollment. Analyses were adjusted for individual-level sociodemographic covariates and the cumulative experience of neighborhood poverty rate and neighborhood greenspace coverage. Almost a third (29%) of participants changed address at least once during follow-up. The first change of residence, on average, brought the participants to neighborhoods with higher home values and lower NWI scores than their originating neighborhoods. Compared with those having experienced the lowest quartile of cumulative NWI-years, those who experienced the highest quartile had 0.83 lower BMI (95% confidence interval, -1.5, -0.16) and 1.07-cm smaller waist circumference (95% confidence interval, -1.96, -0.19) at follow-up. These analyses provide additional longitudinal evidence that residential neighborhood features that support pedestrian activity are associated with lower adiposity.

Neighbourhood walkability is associated with risk of gestational diabetes: A cross-sectional study in New York City.

BACKGROUND: Despite the links between neighbourhood walkability and physical activity, body size and risk of diabetes, there are few studies of neighbourhood walkability and risk of gestational diabetes (GD). OBJECTIVES: Assess whether higher neighbourhood walkability is associated with lower risk of GD in New York City (NYC). METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses of a neighbourhood walkability index (NWI) score and density of walkable destinations (DWD) and risk of GD in 109,863 births recorded in NYC in 2015. NWI and DWD were measured for the land area of 1 km radius circles around the geographic centroid of each Census block of residence. Mixed generalised linear models, with robust standard error estimation and random intercepts for NYC Community Districts, were used to estimate risk ratios for GD for increasing quartiles of each of the neighbourhood walkability measures after adjustment for the pregnant individual's age, race and ethnicity, parity, education, nativity, and marital status and the neighbourhood poverty rate. RESULTS: Overall, 7.5% of pregnant individuals experienced GD. Risk of GD decreased across increasing quartiles of NWI, with an adjusted risk ratio of 0.81 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.75, 0.87) comparing those living in areas in the 4th quartile of NWI to those in the first quartile. Similarly, for comparisons of the 4th to 1st quartile of DWD, the adjusted risk ratio for GD was 0.77 (95% CI 0.71, 0.84). CONCLUSIONS: These analyses find support for the hypothesis that higher neighbourhood walkability is associated with a lower risk of GD. The analyses provide further health related support for urban design policies to increase walkability.

Neighborhood walkability and sex steroid hormone levels in women.

BACKGROUND: Neighborhood walkability (NW) has been linked to increased physical activity, which in turn is associated with lower concentrations of sex hormones and higher concentration of SHBG in women. However, no study has directly examined the association of NW with female sex hormone levels. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate the association between NW and circulating levels of sex hormones and SHBG in pre- and post-menopausal women. METHODS: We included 797 premenopausal and 618 postmenopausal women from the New York University Women's Health Study (NYUWHS) who were healthy controls in previous nested case-control studies in which sex hormones (androstenedione, testosterone, DHEAS, estradiol and estrone) and SHBG had been measured in serum at enrollment. Baseline residential addresses were geo-coded and the Built Environment and Health Neighborhood Walkability Index (BEH-NWI) was calculated. Generalized Estimating Equations were used to assess the association between BEH-NWI and sex hormone and SHBG concentrations adjusting for individual- and neighborhood-level factors. RESULTS: In premenopausal women, a one standard deviation (SD) increment in BEH-NWI was associated with a 3.5% (95% CI 0.9%-6.1%) lower DHEAS concentration. In postmenopausal women, a one SD increment in BEH-NWI was related to an 8.5% (95% CI 5.4%-11.5%) lower level of DHEAS, a 3.7% (95% CI 0.5%-6.8%) lower level of testosterone, a 1.8% (95% CI 0.5%-3.0%) lower level of estrone, and a 4.2% (95% CI 2.7%-5.7%) higher level of SHBG. However, the associations with respect to DHEAS and estrone became apparent only after adjusting for neighborhood-level variables. Sensitivity analyses using fixed effects meta-analysis and inverse probability weighting accounting for potential selection bias yielded similar results. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that NW is associated with lower concentrations of androgens and estrone, and increased SHBG, in postmenopausal women, and lower levels of DHEAS in premenopausal women.

Addressing patient's unmet social needs: disparities in access to social services in the United States from 1990 to 2014, a national times series study.

BACKGROUND: To address patient's unmet social needs and improve health outcomes, health systems have developed programs to refer patients in need to social service agencies. However, the capacity to respond to patient referrals varies tremendously across communities. This study assesses the emergence of disparities in spatial access to social services from 1990 to 2014. METHODS: Social service providers in the lower 48 continental U.S. states were identified annually from 1990 to 2014 from the National Establishment Times Series (NETS) database. The addresses of providers were linked in each year to 2010 US Census tract geometries. Time series analyses of annual counts of services per Km2 were conducted using Generalized Estimating Equations with tracts stratified into tertiles of 1990 population density, quartiles of 1990 poverty rate and quartiles of 1990 to 2010 change in median household income. RESULTS: Throughout the period, social service agencies/Km2 increased across tracts. For high population density tracts, in the top quartile of 1990 poverty rate, compared to tracts that experienced the steepest declines in median household income from 1990 to 2010, tracts that experienced the largest increases in income had more services (+ 1.53/Km2, 95% CI 1.23, 1.83) in 1990 and also experienced the steepest increases in services from 1990 to 2010: a 0.09 services/Km2/year greater increase (95% CI 0.07, 0.11). Similar results were observed for high poverty tracts in the middle third of population density, but not in tracts in the lowest third of population density, where there were very few providers. CONCLUSION: From 1990 to 2014 a spatial mismatch emerged between the availability of social services and the expected need for social services as the population characteristics of neighborhoods changed. High poverty tracts that experienced further economic decline from 1990 to 2010, began the period with the lowest access to services and experienced the smallest increases in access to services. Access was highest and grew the fastest in high poverty tracts that experienced the largest increases in median household income. We theorize that agglomeration benefits and the marketization of welfare may explain the emergence of this spatial mismatch.

Neighborhood Walkability and Mortality in a Prospective Cohort of Women.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of prospective cohort studies evaluating neighborhood walkability in relation to the risk of death. METHODS: We geocoded baseline residential addresses of 13,832 women in the New York University Women's Health Study (NYUWHS) and estimated the Built Environment and Health Neighborhood Walkability Index (BEH-NWI) for each participant circa 1990. The participants were recruited from 1985 to 1991 in New York City and followed for an average of 27 years. We conducted survival analyses using Cox proportional hazards models to assess the association between neighborhood walkability and risk of death from any cause, obesity-related diseases, cardiometabolic diseases, and obesity-related cancers. RESULTS: Residing in a neighborhood with a higher neighborhood walkability score was associated with a lower mortality rate. Comparing women in the top versus the lowest walkability tertile, the hazards ratios (and 95% CIs) were 0.96 (0.93, 0.99) for all-cause, 0.91 (0.86, 0.97) for obesity-related disease, and 0.72 (0.62, 0.85) for obesity-related cancer mortality, respectively, adjusting for potential confounders at both the individual and neighborhood level. We found no association between neighborhood walkability and risk of death from cardiometabolic diseases. Results were similar in analyses censoring participants who moved during follow-up, using multiple imputation for missing covariates, and using propensity scores matching women with high and low neighborhood walkability on potential confounders. Exploratory analyses indicate that outdoor walking and average BMI mediated the association between neighborhood walkability and mortality. CONCLUSION: Our findings are consistent with a protective role of neighborhood walkability in obesity-related mortality in women, particularly obesity-related cancer mortality.

Health and Health-Related Resources in Newly Designated Federally Qualified Opportunity Zones: United States, 2012-2016.

Objectives. To characterize health and health-related resources in the new qualified opportunity zones (QOZs) relative to tracts not selected or not eligible for this federal investment incentive.Methods. We used tract-level data from the 498 largest cities in the contiguous United States (n = 24 409), categorized using designations from the Department of Treasury. We compiled data on population characteristics, health-related resources, and health from the American Community Survey, the National Establishment Time Series, the National Land Cover Dataset, and the US Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates Project and the 500 Cities projects. We calculated means and SDs for ineligible, eligible (but not designated), and designated QOZ tracts.Results. In general, designated QOZ tracts had lower access to health care facilities, physical activity resources, and healthy food. They had a higher prevalence of unhealthy behaviors and worse health outcomes across most measures.Conclusions. By benchmarking conditions, we facilitate tracking and assessment of QOZ impacts.Public Health Implications. QOZ could spur unprecedented neighborhood change with substantial influence on health resources and outcomes. Public health collaboration and strategic local governance of QOZ will be crucial for yielding health benefits for existing residents.

Using universal kriging to improve neighborhood physical disorder measurement.

Ordinary kriging, a spatial interpolation technique, is commonly used in social sciences to estimate neighborhood attributes such as physical disorder. Universal kriging, developed and used in physical sciences, extends ordinary kriging by supplementing the spatial model with additional covariates. We measured physical disorder on 1,826 sampled block faces across 4 US cities (New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, and San Jose) using Google Street View imagery. We then compared leave-one-out cross-validation accuracy between universal and ordinary kriging and used random subsamples of our observed data to explore whether universal kriging could provide equal measurement accuracy with less spatially dense samples. Universal kriging did not always improve accuracy. However, a measure of housing vacancy did improve estimation accuracy in Philadelphia and Detroit (7.9 and 6.8% lower root mean square error, respectively) and allowed for equivalent estimation accuracy with half the sampled points in Philadelphia. Universal kriging may improve neighborhood measurement.

Neighborhood Recreation Facilities and Facility Membership Are Jointly Associated with Objectively Measured Physical Activity.

Efforts to increase physical activity have traditionally included either individual-level interventions (e.g., educational campaigns) or neighborhood-level interventions (e.g., additional recreational facilities). Little work has addressed the interaction between spatial proximity and individual characteristics related to facility use. We aimed to better understand the synergistic impact of both physical activity environments and recreational facility membership on objectively measured physical activity. Using the New York City Physical Activity and Transit (PAT) survey (n = 644), we evaluated associations between counts of commercial physical activity facilities within 1 km of participants' home addresses with both facility membership and accelerometry-measured physical activity. Individuals living near more facilities were more likely to report membership (adjusted odds ratio for top versus bottom quartile of facility count: 3.77 (95% CI 1.54-9.20). Additionally, while amount of facilities within a neighborhood was associated with more physical activity, this association was stronger for individuals reporting gym membership. Interventions aiming to increase physical activity should consider both neighborhood amenities and potential barriers, including the financial and social barriers of membership. Evaluation of neighborhood opportunities must expand beyond physical presence to consider multiple dimensions of accessibility.

Development of a Neighborhood Walkability Index for Studying Neighborhood Physical Activity Contexts in Communities across the U.S. over the Past Three Decades.

To examine how urban form shapes physical activity and health over time, a measure of neighborhood walkability is needed that can be linked to cohort studies with participants living across the United States (U.S.) that have been followed over the past decades. The Built Environment and Health-Neighborhood Walkability Index (BEH-NWI), a measure of neighborhood walkability that can be calculated for communities across the United States between 1990 and 2015, was conceptualized, developed, and tested using data from the New York City Tri-State Area. BEH-NWI measures were created for 1990 and 2010 using historical data on population density, street intersection density, density of rail stops, and density of pedestrian trip generating/supporting establishments. BEH-NWI scores were calculated for 1-km buffers around the 1990 residences of NYU Women's Health Study (NYUWHS) participants and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Physical Activity and Transit (PAT) survey participants enrolled in 2011. Higher neighborhood BEH-NWI scores were significantly associated with greater self-reported walking per week (+ 0.31 MET-hours/week per unit BEH-NWI, 95% CI 0.23, 0.36) and lower body mass index (- 0.17 BMI units per unit BEH-NWI, 95% - 0.23, - 0.12) among NYUWHS participants. Higher neighborhood BEH-NWI scores were associated with significantly higher accelerometer-measured physical activity among PAT survey participants (39% more minutes of moderate-intensity equivalent activity/week across the interquartile range of BEH-NWI, 95% CI 21%, 60%). The BEH-NWI can be calculated using historical data going back to 1990, and BEH-NWI scores predict BMI, weekly walking, and physical activity in two NYC area datasets.

Use of Google Street View to Assess Environmental Contributions to Pedestrian Injury.

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate an information technology-based approach to assess characteristics of streets and intersections associated with injuries that is less costly and time-consuming than location-based studies of pedestrian injury. METHODS: We used imagery captured by Google Street View from 2007 to 2011 to assess 9 characteristics of 532 intersections within New York City. We controlled for estimated pedestrian count and estimated the relation between intersections' characteristics and frequency of injurious collisions. RESULTS: The count of pedestrian injuries at intersections was associated with the presence of marked crosswalks (80% increase; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2%, 218%), pedestrian signals (156% increase; 95% CI = 69%, 259%), nearby billboards (42% increase; 95% CI = 7%, 90%), and bus stops (120% increase; 95% CI = 51%, 220%). Injury incidence per pedestrian was lower at intersections with higher estimated pedestrian volumes. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with in-person study observations, the information-technology approach found traffic islands, visual advertising, bus stops, and crosswalk infrastructures to be associated with elevated counts of pedestrian injury in New York City. Virtual site visits for pedestrian injury control studies are a viable and informative methodology.

Validity of an ecometric neighborhood physical disorder measure constructed by virtual street audit.

Neighborhood physical disorder is thought to affect mental and physical health, but it has been difficult to measure objectively and reliably across large geographical areas or multiple locales. Virtual street audits are a novel method for assessing neighborhood characteristics. We evaluated the ecometric properties of a neighborhood physical disorder measure constructed from virtual street audit data. Eleven trained auditors assessed 9 previously validated items developed to capture physical disorder (e.g., litter, graffiti, and abandoned buildings) on 1,826 block faces using Google Street View imagery (Google, Inc., Mountain View, California) dating from 2007-2011 in 4 US cities (San Jose, California; Detroit, Michigan; New York, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). We constructed a 2-parameter item response theory scale to estimate latent levels of disorder on each block face and defined a function using kriging to estimate physical disorder levels, with confidence estimates, for any point in each city. The internal consistency reliability of the resulting scale was 0.93. The final measure of disorder was positively correlated with US Census data on unemployment and housing vacancy and negatively correlated with data on owner-occupied housing. These results suggest that neighborhood physical disorder can be measured reliably and validly using virtual audits, facilitating research on possible associations between physical disorder and health.

A prospective study of socioeconomic status, prostate cancer screening and incidence among men at high risk for prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Higher socioeconomic status (SES) men are at higher risk of prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis, an association commonly interpreted as a function of higher rates of prostate screening among higher SES men. However, the extent to which screening explains this association has not been well quantified. METHODS: Within a Detroit area cohort of 6,692 men followed up after a benign prostate procedure, a case-control study was conducted of 494 PCa cases and controls matched on age, race, duration of follow-up, and date of initial benign finding; 2000 Census data were used in a principal component analysis to derive a single factor, labeled the neighborhood SES index (NSESI), representing zip code-level SES. RESULTS: Among cases, higher SES was associated with a younger age at initial biopsy: -1.48 years (95 % CI, -2.32, -0.64) per unit NSESI. After adjustment for confounders and duration of follow-up, higher SES was associated with more PSA tests and DRE during follow-up; 9 % (95 % CI, 2, 16) and 8 % (95 % CI, 1, 15) more respectively, per unit NSESI. Higher SES was associated with a higher risk of PCa diagnosis during follow-up, multivariable adjusted OR = 1.26 per unit increase in NSESI (95 % CI, 1.04, 1.49). Further adjustment for screening frequency somewhat reduced the association between SES and PCa risk (OR = 1.19 per unit NSESI, 95 % CI, 0.98, 1.44). CONCLUSIONS: Differences in screening frequency only partially explained the association between higher zip code SES and PCa risk; other health care-related factors should also be considered as explanatory factors.

Aesthetic amenities and safety hazards associated with walking and bicycling for transportation in New York City.

BACKGROUND: One strategy to address health problems related to insufficient physical activity is to examine modifiable neighborhood characteristics associated with active transportation. PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether neighborhoods with more aesthetic amenities (sidewalk cafés, street trees, and clean sidewalks) and fewer safety hazards (pedestrian-auto fatalities and homicides) are associated with active transportation. METHODS: The 2003 Community Health Survey in New York City, which asked about active transportation (walking or bicycling >10 blocks) in the past 30 days, was linked to ZIP-code population census and built environment characteristics. Adjusted associations were estimated for dichotomous (any active transportation versus none) and continuous (trip frequency) active transportation outcomes. RESULTS: Among 8,034 adults, those living near sidewalk cafés were 10 % more likely to report active transportation (p = 0.01). Homicide rate was associated with less frequent active transportation among those reporting any active transportation (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Investments in aesthetic amenities or homicide prevention may help to promote active transportation.

Neighborhood safety and green space as predictors of obesity among preschool children from low-income families in New York City.

BACKGROUND: Neighborhood safety, green space, walkability, and sociodemographics may influence physical activity and childhood obesity. METHODS: Data on measured height and weight, demographic characteristics, and home ZIP code were collected from year 2004 enrollees in a means-tested preschool program in New York City. Each ZIP code was surrounded by a 400-m buffer and characterized using data from the US census, local government departments, New York Times website, and Transportation Alternatives. Linear and Poisson models were constructed using cluster robust standard errors and adjusting for child's sex, race, ethnicity, age, and neighborhood characteristics. RESULTS: Analyses included 11,562 children ages 3-5 years living in 160 residential ZIP codes. A higher homicide rate (at the 75th vs 25th percentile) was associated with a 22% higher prevalence of obesity (95% CI for the prevalence ratio (PR): 1.05 to 1.41). A higher density of street trees (at the 75th vs 25th percentile) was associated with 12% lower prevalence of obesity (95% CI for the PR: 0.79 to 0.99). Other neighborhood characteristics did not have significant associations with childhood obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Among preschool children from low-income families, neighborhood homicide rate was associated with more obesity and street tree density was associated with less obesity.

Neighborhood Food Environment and Birth Weight Outcomes in New York City.

Importance: Infants born with unhealthy birth weight are at greater risk for long-term health complications, but little is known about how neighborhood characteristics (eg, walkability, food environment) may affect birth weight outcomes. Objective: To assess whether neighborhood-level characteristics (poverty rate, food environment, and walkability) are associated with risk of unhealthy birth weight outcomes and to evaluate whether gestational weight gain mediated these associations. Design, Setting, and Participants: The population-based cross-sectional study included births in the 2015 vital statistics records from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Only singleton births and observations with complete birth weight and covariate data were included. Analyses were performed from November 2021 to March 2022. Exposures: Residential neighborhood-level characteristics, including poverty, food environment (healthy and unhealthy food retail establishments), and walkability (measured by both walkable destinations and a neighborhood walkability index combining walkability measures like street intersection and transit stop density). Neighborhood-level variables categorized into quartiles. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were birth certificate birth weight measures including small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA), and sex-specific birth weight for gestational age z-score. Generalized linear mixed-effects models and hierarchical linear models estimated risk ratios for associations between density of neighborhood-level characteristics within a 1-km buffer of residential census block centroid and birth weight outcomes. Results: The study included 106 194 births in New York City. The mean (SD) age of pregnant individuals in the sample was 29.9 (6.1) years. Prevalence of SGA and LGA were 12.9% and 8.4%, respectively. Residence in the highest density quartile of healthy food retail establishments compared with the lowest quartile was associated with lower adjusted risk of SGA (with adjustment for individual covariates including gestational weight gain z-score: risk ratio [RR], 0.89; 95% CI 0.83-0.97). Higher neighborhood density of unhealthy food retail establishments was associated with higher adjusted risk of delivering an infant classified as SGA (fourth vs first quartile: RR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.01-1.24). The RR for the association between density of unhealthy food retail establishments and risk of LGA was higher after adjustment for all covariates in each quartile compared with quartile 1 (second: RR, 1.12 [95% CI, 1.04-1.20]; third: RR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.08-1.29]; fourth: RR, 1.16; [95% CI, 1.04-1.29]). There were no associations between neighborhood walkability and birth weight outcomes (SGA for fourth vs first quartile: RR, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.94-1.08]; LGA for fourth vs first quartile: RR, 1.06 [95% CI, 0.98-1.14]). Conclusions and Relevance: In this population-based cross-sectional study, healthfulness of neighborhood food environments was associated with risk of SGA and LGA. The findings support use of urban design and planning guidelines to improve food environments to support healthy pregnancies and birth weight.

Long-Term Exposure to Walkable Residential Neighborhoods and Risk of Obesity-Related Cancer in the New York University Women's Health Study (NYUWHS).

BACKGROUND: Living in neighborhoods with higher levels of walkability has been associated with a reduced risk of obesity and higher levels of physical activity. Obesity has been linked to increased risk of 13 cancers in women. However, long-term prospective studies of neighborhood walkability and risk for obesity-related cancer are scarce. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the association between long-term average neighborhood walkability and obesity-related cancer risk in women. METHODS: The New York University Women's Health Study (NYUWHS) is a prospective cohort with 14,274 women recruited between 1985 and 1991 in New York City and followed over nearly three decades. We geocoded residential addresses for each participant throughout follow-up and calculated an average annual measure of neighborhood walkability across years of follow-up using data on population density and accessibility to destinations associated with geocoded residential addresses. We used ICD-9 codes to characterize first primary obesity-related cancers and employed Cox proportional hazards models to assess the association between average neighborhood walkability and risk of overall and site-specific obesity-related cancers. RESULTS: Residing in neighborhoods with a higher walkability level was associated with a reduced risk of overall and site-specific obesity-related cancers. The hazards ratios associated with a 1-standard deviation increase in average annual neighborhood walkability were 0.88 (95% CI: 0.85, 0.93) for overall obesity-related cancer, 0.89 (95% CI: 0.84, 0.95) for postmenopausal breast cancer, 0.82 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.99) for ovarian cancer, 0.87 (95% CI: 0.76, 0.99) for endometrial cancer, and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.94) for multiple myeloma, adjusting for potential confounders at both the individual and neighborhood level. The association between neighborhood walkability and risk of overall obesity-related cancer was stronger among women living in neighborhoods with higher levels of poverty compared with women living in areas with lower poverty levels (pInteraction=0.006). DISCUSSION: Our study highlights a potential protective role of neighborhood walkability in preventing obesity-related cancers in women. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11538.

Causal Inference with Case-Only Studies in Injury Epidemiology Research.

Purpose of Review: We review the application and limitations of two implementations of the "case-only design" in injury epidemiology with example analyses of Fatality Analysis Reporting System data. Recent Findings: The term "case-only design" covers a variety of epidemiologic designs; here, two implementations of the design are reviewed: (1) studies to uncover etiological heterogeneity and (2) studies to measure exposure effect modification. These two designs produce results that require different interpretations and rely upon different assumptions. The key assumption of case-only designs for exposure effect modification, the more commonly used of the two designs, does not commonly hold for injuries and so results from studies using this design cannot be interpreted. Case-only designs to identify etiological heterogeneity in injury risk are interpretable but only when the case-series is conceptualized as arising from an underlying cohort. Summary: The results of studies using case-only designs are commonly misinterpreted in the injury literature.

Neighborhood walkability and poverty predict excessive gestational weight gain: A cross-sectional study in New York City.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated associations between neighborhood-level characteristics and gestational weight gain (GWG) in a population-level study of 2015 New York City births. METHODS: Generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for associations between neighborhood-level characteristics (poverty, food environment, walkability) within 1 km of a residential Census block centroid and excessive or inadequate GWG compared with recommended GWG. All models were adjusted for individual-level sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Among the sample of 106,285 births, 41.8% had excessive GWG, and 26.3% had inadequate GWG. Residence in the highest versus lowest quartile of neighborhood poverty was associated with greater odds of excessive GWG (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.08-1.26). Residence in neighborhoods in the quartile of highest walkability compared with the quartile of lowest walkability was associated with lower odds of excessive GWG (OR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.81-0.93). Adjustment for prepregnancy BMI attenuated the associations for neighborhood poverty, but not for walkability. Neighborhood variables were not associated with inadequate GWG. CONCLUSIONS: These analyses indicate that greater neighborhood walkability is associated with lower odds of excessive GWG, potentially from differences in pedestrian activity during pregnancy. This research provides further evidence for using urban design to support healthy weight status during pregnancy.

Association of the built environment and neighborhood resources with obesity-related health behaviors in older veterans with hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of the built environment and neighborhood resources with exercise, diet, and body mass index (BMI). METHOD: Person-level data were collected from 533 veterans with uncontrolled hypertension. Neighborhood measures were: (a) census-tract level walkability; and (b) healthy food proximity (HFP). Robust or logistic regression (adjusting for age, race, education, comorbidity, and clustered by provider) was used to evaluate associations between neighborhood and exercise duration (hours/week), exercise adherence (% adherent), saturated fat index (0-10), Healthy Eating Index (HEI; 0-100), HEI adherence (≥ 74 score), stage of change (SOC) for exercise and diet (% in action/maintenance), BMI (kg/m²), and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²). RESULTS: The adjusted difference in HEI score (standard error [SE]) between the highest and lowest walkability tertiles was 3.67 (1.35), p = .006; the corresponding comparison for the saturated fat index was 1.03 (.50), p = .041 and BMI was -1.12 (.45), p = .013. The adjusted odds ratio (OR; 95% confidence intervals [CI]) between the highest and lowest walkability tertiles for HEI adherence was 2.16 [1.22, 3.82], p = .009 and for action/maintenance for exercise SOC was 1.78 [1.15, 2.76], p = .011. The adjusted difference (SE) between the highest and lowest HFP tertiles for exercise duration was .65 (.31), p = .03. The adjusted OR [95% CI] between the highest and lowest HFP tertiles for exercise adherence was 1.74 [1.08, 2.79], p = .023 and for action/maintenance for exercise SOC was 1.75 [1.10, 2.79], p = .034. CONCLUSIONS: Geographical location is associated with exercise and diet. Environment-tailored health recommendations could promote healthier lifestyles and decrease obesity-related cardiovascular disease. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Is the environment near home and school associated with physical activity and adiposity of urban preschool children?

Preventing sedentary behavior and adiposity in childhood has become a public health priority. We examined urban social and built environment characteristics as correlates of physical activity and anthropometry among 428 preschool children from low-income families in New York City. We measured the children's height, weight, skinfold thicknesses, physical activity by accelerometer, and covariates. We geocoded home and Head Start center addresses and estimated the following for an area within 0.5 km of those two locations using a detailed geographic database: neighborhood composition, walkability, crime and traffic safety, and aesthetic characteristics. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the associations of area characteristics with physical activity or adiposity, adjusted for characteristics of the child, mother, and home. Participants were 2-5 years old, 53% female, 83% Hispanic, and 43% either overweight or obese. Of the walkability indicators, land use mix was associated with physical activity (26 more activity counts/minute per standard deviation increase in mixed land use, p = 0.015) and subway stop density was associated with adiposity (1.2 mm smaller sums of skinfold thicknesses sum per standard deviation increase in subway stop density, p = 0.001). The pedestrian-auto injury rate, an indicator of traffic safety problems, was associated with physical activity and adiposity (16 fewer activity counts/minute, p = 0.033, and 1.0 mm greater skinfold thickness per standard deviation increase in pedestrian-auto injuries, p = 0.018). Children living in areas with more street trees were more physically active and those living in areas with more park access had smaller skinfolds. However, many of the tested associations were not statistically significant and some trends were not in the hypothesized direction. Efforts to enhance walkability, safety, and green spaces in the local environment may be relevant to physical activity and adiposity, and therefore to the health of preschool-aged children from low-income families.