Change in Geographic Accessibility to Dental Clinics Affects Access to Care.

Access to dental clinics is a feature of the neighborhood service environment that may influence oral health care utilization. However, residential selection poses a challenge to causal inference. By studying the involuntary relocation of survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (GEJE), we examined the association between changes in geographic distance to dental clinics and dental visits. Longitudinal data from a cohort of older residents in Iwanuma City directly impacted by the GEJE were analyzed in this study. The baseline survey was conducted in 2010, 7 mo before the occurrence of GEJE, and a follow-up was conducted in 2016. Using Poisson regression models, we estimated the incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the uptake of denture use (as a proxy for dental visits) according to changes in distance from the nearest dental clinic to their house. Age at baseline, housing damage by the disaster, deteriorating economic conditions, and worsened physical activity were used as confounders. Among the 1,098 participants who had not worn dentures before the GEJE, 495 were men (45.1%), with a mean ± SD age at baseline of 74.0 ± 6.9 y. During the 6-year follow-up, 372 (33.9%) participants initiated denture use. Compared to those who experienced a large increase in distance to dental clinics (>370.0-6,299.1 m), a large decrease in distance to dental clinics (>429.0-5,382.6 m) was associated with a marginally significantly higher initiation of denture use among disaster survivors (IRR = 1.28; 95% CI, 0.99-1.66). The experience of major housing damage was independently associated with higher initiation of denture use (IRR = 1.77; 95% CI, 1.47-2.14). Improved geographic access to dental clinics may increase dental visits of disaster survivors. Further studies in non-disaster-affected areas are needed to generalize these findings.

Post-Disaster Mental Health and Dietary Patterns among Older Survivors of an Earthquake and Tsunami.

OBJECTIVES: Research suggests that cardiometabolic disease risks are elevated among survivors of natural disasters, possibly mediated by changes in diet. Using the Brief Dietary History Questionnaire, we examined (1) dietary patterns among older survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and (2) the contribution of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS)/depressive symptoms, as well as relocation to temporary housing on dietary patterns and (3) gender differences in the associations. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Data came from a prospective cohort study of 1,375 survivors aged 65-89 years (44.6% male). MEASUREMENTS: PTSS/depression onset was evaluated in 2013, 2.5 years after the disaster. Dietary data was collected with a self-administered brief-type diet history questionnaire in 2020. A principal component analysis identified three posterior dietary patterns. RESULTS: Diet 1 consisted of high intake of vegetables, soy products, and fruits; Diet 2 consisted of carbohydrate-rich foods and snacks/sweets; Diet 3 consisted of high intake of alcoholic beverages, meat, and seafood. Least-squares linear regression revealed that individuals with PTSS/depression were less likely to exhibit Diet 1, while individuals with PTSS were more likely to exhibit Diet 2 and 3. Especially, males who had depression showed an unhealthy dietary pattern. Those who have lived in a trailer-style temporary housing reported less consumption of Diet 3. CONCLUSION: Survivors of disaster with symptoms of mental illness tended to exhibit less healthy dietary patterns after 9 years. Diet varied by type of post-disaster mental illness, gender, and current social circumstances. We lacked pre-disaster BDHQ data, which is a limitation.

Rasch model of the bridging social capital questionnaire.

Bridging social capital is defined as the connections between individuals who are dissimilar with respect to socioeconomic status and other characteristics. We previously identified an important gap in the literature related to its measurement. We developed and validated a scale to measure bridging social capital to be used in Latinx immigrant populations living in the U.S using Classical Test Theory. The structure of the questionnaire comprised the following sub-scales: Socializing in the work place (5 items); Participation in community activities (16 items); Socializing in community activities (5 items); Contact with similar/different people (7 items); Assistance (17 items); Trust of institutions, corporations and other people (14 items); and Trust of intimate people (3 items). Although basic psychometric validation was performed on our original instrument (e.g., content and construct validity, internal consistency reliability), modern testing theory recommends a more comprehensive set of evaluations, including assessment of data quality, scaling assumptions, targeting, reliability, validity and responsiveness. Rasch measurement theory (RMT) is one of the Modern Test Theory methods that assesses the extent to which rigorous measurement is achieved. In the present work, our objective was to further evaluate the instrument using CTT and to use modern psychometric techniques to further validate the questionnaire and create version 2 (v2) using a new sample (N = 224). We developed a Rasch model of the questionnaire to evaluate item fit statistics, item category thresholds, person separation index (PSI), local dependency, differential item functioning (DIF), unidimensionality and targeting and item locations. Assistance was the most problematic sub-scale of all, as item-to-total correlations ranged from 0.27 to 0.66. There were no disordered thresholds on any item, either examined as part of the overall score or as part of sub-scales. However, the analysis provided evidence of the need to modify some of the sub-scales as there was lack of support for unidimensionality or fit to the Rasch model. The Bridging Social Capital Questionnaire v2 has 61 items (compared to 67 in version 1). Our questionnaire may be suitable for adaptation to other immigrant groups in different countries.

Perceived social capital and binge drinking in older adults: The Health and Retirement Study, US data from 2006-2014.

OBJECTIVE: Social capital has been described as having both positive influences as well as negative influences ("the dark side") on health behaviors. We sought to test the association of perceived social capital on the risk of binge drinking among older adults, using a longitudinal design. METHODS: We used HRS (Health and Retirement Study) data, a nationally representative sample of US adults aged ≥50 years evaluated every two years (from 2006 to 2014). We investigated the relationship between perceived social capital (neighborhood social cohesion and neighborhood physical disorder, positive social support and negative social support) and binge drinking over time, with a multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) approach, modelling number of binge-drinking days as hurdle negative binomial. We used MSEM estimating the associations at person level (overall) and within waves. RESULTS: The sample included 19,140 individuals. At baseline mean age was 66.8 (SD 10.3). Over time, the number of binge drinking days decreased. Negative social support increased the average number of binge drinking days among those who drink, where one unit increase was associated with an increase of 37 % in the expected number of days binge drinking in the same wave. The association of positive social support on the number of binge drinking days was stronger for females (-0.59 (SE = 0.12)), while neighborhood social cohesion was significantly associated with binge drinking in females (-0.05 (SE = 0.01)), but not in males. CONCLUSIONS: Negative social support favored binge drinking. Positive social support and neighborhood social cohesion are protective factors for binge drinking, especially for women.

Efficacy of dimethyl fumarate in Japanese multiple sclerosis patients: interim analysis of randomized, double-blind APEX study and its open-label extension.

BACKGROUND: Current data for the use of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) in Japanese patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is limited. OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of DMF in Japanese patients with RRMS. METHODS: The phase 3, multinational APEX study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01838668) consisted of two parts: a 24-week double-blind part where subjects were randomized to receive DMF 240 mg or placebo twice daily in East Asian and Eastern European countries, and an open-label extension part where all subjects received DMF. The primary endpoint was the total number of new gadolinium-enhancing lesions in Weeks 12-24. In this interim analysis, we report efficacy data in the Japanese subgroup (DMF n = 56; placebo n = 58) over 72 weeks, including an extension phase. RESULTS: DMF reduced the total number of new gadolinium-enhancing lesions in Weeks 12-24 by 85% versus placebo (p < 0.0001). At Week 24, the annualized relapse rate was also reduced by 48% with DMF, versus placebo. DMF reduced the probability of relapse from Week 8 and was sustained. The number of gadolinium-enhancing lesions was maintained through 72 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: DMF demonstrated sustained efficacy in this Japanese subgroup. The results were consistent with those observed in studies of DMF enrolling primarily Caucasian patients.

Residential relocation and obesity after a natural disaster: A natural experiment from the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

Natural disasters are often associated with forced residential relocation, thereby affected people experience a change of food environment that results in the increased body mass index. However, there are a few studies that examined whether a change in food environment caused risk of obesity after a natural disaster. To address this question, we leveraged a natural experiment of residential relocation in the aftermath of the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Our baseline data came from a nationwide cohort study of older community-dwelling adults conducted 7 months prior to the disaster. By chance, one of the field sites (Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture) was directly in the line of the tsunami. Approximately 2.5 years after the disaster, we ascertained the residential addresses and health status of 3,594 survivors aged 65 years or older (82.1% follow-up rate). Fixed effects multinomial logistic regression showed that shortened distances to food outlets/bars increased the risks of transitioning from BMI in the normal range (18.5-22.9) to obesity (≥25.0) (Odds ratios: 1.46 for supermarkets; 1.43 for bars; 1.44 times for fast food outlets). Radically changed food access after a natural disaster may raise the risk of obesity among older survivors.

Adverse childhood experiences, exposure to a natural disaster and posttraumatic stress disorder among survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.

AIMS: To investigate whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) modify the impact of exposure to a natural disaster (the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami) on the occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among older people. METHODS: Data were collected as part of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES), which is an on-going epidemiological survey investigating social determinants of health among older people across Japan. Information on PTSD symptoms based on the Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health, traumatic exposure to the earthquake (i.e., house damage and loss of relatives/friends during the earthquake/tsunami) and ACEs was obtained from 580 participants aged 65 or older living in Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, which suffered severe damage as a result of the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami in March 2011. Associations were examined using Poisson regression analysis with a robust variance estimator after adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: The prevalence of PTSD was 9.7% in this population; compared to those with no traumatic experience, the prevalence of PTSD was approximately two times higher among those who experienced the loss of close friends/relatives (PR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.11-3.03, p = 0.018), or whose house was damaged (PR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.07-4.34, p = 0.032). ACE was not significantly associated with PTSD. Stratified analyses by the presence of ACE showed that damage due to the earthquake/tsunami was associated with PTSD only among those without ACEs; more specifically, among non-ACE respondents the PR of PTSD associated with house damage was 6.67 (95% CI = 1.66-26.80), while for the loss of a relative or a close friend it was 3.56 (95% CI = 1.18-10.75). In contrast, no statistically significant associations were observed among those with ACEs. CONCLUSION: Following the Great East Japan earthquake/tsunami in 2011 a higher risk of developing PTSD symptoms was observed in 2013 especially among older individuals without ACEs. This suggests that ACEs might affect how individuals respond to subsequent traumatic events later in life.

Neighbourhood social capital and obesity: a systematic review of the literature.

Social capital, defined as the resources accessed by individuals and groups through social connections, has been posited to be a social determinant of obesity. However, empirical evidence for this association has been inconsistent - namely, some studies have found a protective association while others have reported no correlation. We sought to conduct a systematic review on the relation between neighbourhood social capital and obesity, considering potential differences on the results based on the measures used and the covariates and mediators included in the studies. PRISMA statement guidelines were followed. Our results indicate that an association between neighbourhood social capital and obesity exists, but that it depends on the measures and covariates used in the study design. Understanding the role of social capital in the development and/or maintenance of obesity will require the use of strong methodological designs and a thorough conceptualization of how this relationship may arise.

Children's home and school neighbourhood exposure to alcohol marketing: Using wearable camera and GPS data to directly examine the link between retailer availability and visual exposure to marketing.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Neighbourhood alcohol availability has been associated with alcohol consumption by children, despite children rarely acquiring alcohol from retailers. This study explores one potential reason for this finding, by evaluating the relationships between neighbourhood alcohol availability and children's actual exposure to alcohol marketing. METHOD: Wearable cameras and GPS devices were worn by 167 children (aged 11-13 y) over a four-day period. Image and GPS data were linked and compared to known alcohol availability data. RESULTS: Off-licence retailer availability and ethnicity were positively associated with children's exposure to marketing in both residential and school neighbourhoods. CONCLUSION: Neighbourhood off-licence alcohol retailers are associated with increased childhood exposure to alcohol marketing.

Social capital interventions in public health: A systematic review.

Despite two decades of research on social capital and health, intervention studies remain scarce. We performed a systematic review on social capital interventions in public health and searched the Pubmed and PsychInfo databases. The majority of interventions we identified focused on individual level change (e.g. encouraging social participation), as opposed to community level change. We included 17 manuscripts in the systematic review. We categorized studies according to the role of social capital in the interventions (as the direct target of intervention, as a channel/mediator, or as a segmenting variable) as well as the levels of interventions (individual, community levels vs. multilevel ). We conclude that the majority of interventions sought to directly strengthen social capital to influence health outcomes. Our review reveals (i) a lack of studies that incorporate a multilevel perspective and (ii) an absence of consideration of specific groups that might selectively benefit from social capital interventions (segmentation). Future research is needed on both questions to provide a more nuanced picture of how social capital can be manipulated to affect health outcomes.

The dark side of social capital: A systematic review of the negative health effects of social capital.

There is a growing literature demonstrating the health benefits of social capital (defined as the resources accessed through social connections). However, social capital is also acknowledged to be a "double-edged" phenomenon, whose effects on health are not always positive. We sought to systematically review studies that have found a negative (i.e. harmful) association between social capital and health outcomes. Our objective was to classify the different types of negative effects, following a framework originally proposed by Portes (1998). We conducted a literature search in Pubmed, Embase and PsychInfo. We identified 3530 manuscripts. After detailed review, we included 44 articles in our systematic review. There are at least two negative consequences of social capital besides the classification proposed by Portes: behavioral contagion and cross-level interactions between social cohesion and individual characteristics. When leveraging the concept of social capital for health promotion interventions, researchers need to take account of these potential "downsides" for health outcomes.

Kids in space: Measuring children's residential neighborhoods and other destinations using activity space GPS and wearable camera data.

INTRODUCTION: Defining the boundary of children's 'neighborhoods' has important implications for understanding the contextual influences on child health. Additionally, insight into activities that occur outside people's neighborhoods may indicate exposures that place-based studies cannot detect. This study aimed to 1) extend current neighborhood research, using data from wearable cameras and GPS devices that were worn over several days in an urban setting; 2) define the boundary of children's neighborhoods by using leisure time activity space data; and 3) determine the destinations visited by children in their leisure time, outside their neighborhoods. METHOD: One hundred and fourteen children (mean age 12y) from Wellington, New Zealand wore wearable cameras and GPS recorders. Residential Euclidean buffers at incremental distances were paired with GPS data (thereby identifying time spent in different places) to explore alternative definitions of neighborhood boundaries. Children's neighborhood boundary was at 500 m. A newly developed software application was used to identify 'destinations' visited outside the neighborhood by specifying space-time parameters. Image data from wearable cameras were used to determine the type of destination. RESULTS: Children spent over half of their leisure time within 500 m of their homes. Children left their neighborhood predominantly to visit school (for leisure purposes), other residential locations (e.g. to visit friends) and food retail outlets (e.g. convenience stores, fast food outlets). Children spent more time at food retail outlets than at structured sport and in outdoor recreation locations combined. CONCLUSION: Person-centered neighborhood definitions may serve to better represent children's everyday experiences and neighborhood exposures than previous methods based on place-based measures. As schools and other residential locations (friends and family) are important destinations outside the neighborhood, such destinations should be taken into account. The combination of image data and activity space GPS data provides a more robust approach to understanding children's neighborhoods and activity spaces.

Longitudinal effects of disaster-related experiences on mental health among Fukushima nuclear plant workers: The Fukushima NEWS Project Study.

BACKGROUND: The Fukushima Nuclear Energy Workers' Support (NEWS) Project Study previously showed that experiences related to the Fukushima nuclear disaster on 11 March 2011 had a great impact on psychological states, including post-traumatic stress response (PTSR) and general psychological distress (GPD), among the Fukushima nuclear plant workers. To determine the causal relationship between disaster-related experiences and levels of psychological states, we conducted a 3-year longitudinal study from 2011 to 2014. METHOD: PTSR and GPD of the nuclear plant workers were assessed by annual questionnaires conducted from 2011 to 2014. The present study included a total of 1417 workers who provided an assessment at baseline (2011). A total of 4160 observations were used in the present analysis. The relationship between disaster-related experiences and psychological states over time was analysed using mixed-effects logistic regression models. RESULTS: A declining influence of disaster-related experiences on PTSR over time was found. However, the impact on PTSR remained significantly elevated even 3 years after the disaster in several categories of exposure including the experience of life-threatening danger, experiences of discrimination, the witnessing of plant explosion, the death of a colleague and home evacuation. The associations between GPD and disaster-related experiences showed similar effects. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of disaster-related experiences on psychological states among the nuclear plant workers reduced over time, but remained significantly high even 3 years after the event.

Body mass index as a predictor of healthy and disease-free life expectancy between ages 50 and 75: a multicohort study.

BACKGROUND: While many studies have shown associations between obesity and increased risk of morbidity and mortality, little comparable information is available on how body mass index (BMI) impacts health expectancy. We examined associations of BMI with healthy and chronic disease-free life expectancy in four European cohort studies. METHODS: Data were drawn from repeated waves of cohort studies in England, Finland, France and Sweden. BMI was categorized into four groups from normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg m-2) to obesity class II (⩾35 kg m-2). Health expectancy was estimated with two health indicators: sub-optimal self-rated health and having a chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease and diabetes). Multistate life table models were used to estimate sex-specific healthy life expectancy and chronic disease-free life expectancy from ages 50 to 75 years for each BMI category. RESULTS: The proportion of life spent in good perceived health between ages 50 and 75 progressively decreased with increasing BMI from 81% in normal weight men and women to 53% in men and women with class II obesity which corresponds to an average 7-year difference in absolute terms. The proportion of life between ages 50 and 75 years without chronic diseases decreased from 62 and 65% in normal weight men and women and to 29 and 36% in men and women with class II obesity, respectively. This corresponds to an average 9 more years without chronic diseases in normal weight men and 7 more years in normal weight women between ages 50 and 75 years compared to class II obese men and women. No consistent differences were observed between cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Excess BMI is associated with substantially shorter healthy and chronic disease-free life expectancy, suggesting that tackling obesity would increase years lived in good health in populations.

Twenty years of social capital and health research: a glossary.

Research on social capital in public health is approaching its 20th anniversary. Over this period, there have been rich and productive debates on the definition, measurement and importance of social capital for public health research and practice. As a result, the concepts and measures characterising social capital and health research have also evolved, often drawing from research in the social, political and behavioural sciences. The multidisciplinary adaptation of social capital-related concepts to study health has made it challenging for researchers to reach consensus on a common theoretical approach. This glossary thus aims to provide a general overview without recommending any particular approach. Based on our knowledge and research on social capital and health, we have selected key concepts and terms that have gained prominence over the last decade and complement an earlier glossary on social capital and health.

Associations between mothers' active engagement with infants at 6 months and children's adjustment to school life at ages 5.5 and 11 years.

BACKGROUND: In Japan, students' poor adjustment to school life such as school refusals has been recognized as a nation-wide problem. In this study, we examined the link between the absence of mothers' active engagement with their infants at 6 months and children's risks of poor adjustment toward elementary school life at the ages of 5.5 and 11. METHODS: We used a Japanese national longitudinal survey (n = 43 132) with 11 years of follow-up. Because of social patterning in how mothers engage with their infants, we employed propensity score matching analyses to control for confounding by socio-economic and other factors. We matched mothers with active engagement and those without on various social and parental characteristics such as educational attainment and household income. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Among matched pairs, we observed higher risks of poor adjustment to school life at both 5.5 and 11 years among Japanese children who lacked mothers' active engagement at 6 months. For example, the relative risk was 1.46 [95% confidence interval: 1.10, 1.94] for inability to get along with others in a group setting at the age of 5.5 years and 1.29 [1.10, 1.51] for inability to get along with teachers at the age of 11 years. Our findings corroborate previous findings, which emphasize the importance of providing an enriched environment for infants' social development and may indicate the need for an intervention for caregivers who lack appropriate nurturing skills.

The rise and fall of hospitalizations for skin infections in New Zealand, 2004-2014: trends by ethnicity and socioeconomic deprivation.

Since the 1990s, New Zealand (NZ) has seen an increasing incidence of paediatric skin infections leading to hospitalization. We sought to describe the epidemiology of these infections over time. Hospital discharge data were analysed for all children admitted to any NZ public hospital from 2004 to 2014. We found the age-standardized incidence of hospitalizations due to skin infections increased during this period from 522/100 000 in 2004 to a peak of 644/100 000 in 2011, after which it declined to 524/100 000 in 2014. This decline in incidence was driven primarily by the decline in hospitalization rates in high-risk groups including children living in the most deprived areas as well as Maori and Pacific children. Recent targeted policies focused on improving healthcare access through school-based and primary care-based interventions in these high-risk groups could potentially explain the decline in hospitalization rates. However, even with the closing of the inequality gap, significant socioeconomic and ethnic health disparities persist.

Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes Among Immigrant Women in the US and Europe: A Systematic Review.

Human migration is not a new phenomenon, but it has changed significantly with the advance of globalization. We focus on differences in the published literature concerning migration and health (EU vs the US), centering specifically on reproductive health outcomes. We conducted a literature search in the Pubmed and Embase databases. We reviewed papers that contrast migrants to native-born populations and analyzed differences between countries as well as challenges for future research. The prevalence of low birthweight among migrants varies by the host country characteristics as well as the composition of migrants to different regions. The primary driver of migrant health is the migrant "regime" in different countries at specific periods of time. Future health outcomes of immigrants will depend on the societal characteristics (legal protections, institutions and health systems) of host countries.

Inequalities in Indigenous Oral Health: Findings from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada

The objective was to compare absolute differences in the prevalence of Indigenous-related inequalities in dental disease experience and self-rated oral health in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Data were sourced from national oral health surveys in Australia (2004 to 2006), Canada (2007 to 2009), and New Zealand (2009). Participants were aged ≥18 y. The authors measured age- and sex-adjusted inequalities by estimating absolute prevalence differences and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Clinical measures included the prevalence of untreated decayed teeth, missing teeth, and filled teeth; self-reported measures included the prevalence of "fair" or "poor" self-rated oral health. The overall pattern of Indigenous disadvantage was similar across all countries. The summary estimates for the adjusted prevalence differences were as follows: 16.5 (95% CI: 11.1 to 21.9) for decayed teeth (all countries combined), 18.2 (95% CI: 12.5 to 24.0) for missing teeth, 0.8 (95% CI: -1.9 to 3.5) for filled teeth, and 17.5 (95% CI: 11.3 to 23.6) for fair/poor self-rated oral health. The I2 estimates were small for each outcome: 0.0% for decayed, missing, and filled teeth and 11.6% for fair/poor self-rated oral health. Irrespective of country, when compared with their non-Indigenous counterparts, Indigenous persons had more untreated dental caries and missing teeth, fewer teeth that had been restored (with the exception of Canada), and a higher proportion reporting fair/poor self-rated oral health. There were no discernible differences among the 3 countries.

Social capital and physical activity among Croatian high school students.

OBJECTIVE: To examine factors associated with regular physical activity in Croatian adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey among high school students was carried out in the 2013/14 school year. METHOD: A survey was conducted among 33 high schools in Zagreb City, Croatia. Participants were students aged 17-18 years. The dependent variables were regular moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and overall physical activity measured by the short version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire and defined as 60 min or more of daily physical activity. The independent variables included family, neighborhood, and high school social capital. Other study covariates included: socio-economic status, self-rated health, psychological distress and nutritional status. The associations between physical activity and social capital variables were assessed separately for boys and girls through multiple logistic regression and inverse probability weighting in order to correct for missing data bias. RESULTS: A total of 1689 boys and 1739 girls responded to the survey. A higher percentage of boys reported performing regular vigorous and moderate physical activity (59.4%) and overall physical activity (83.4%), comparing with the girls (35.4% and 70%, respectively). For boys, high family social capital and high informal social control were associated with increased odds of regular MVPA (1.49, 95%CI: 1.18 - 1.90 and 1.26, 95%CI: 1.02 - 1.56, respectively), compared to those with low social capital. For girls, high informal social control was associated with regular overall physical activity (OR 1.38, 95% CI: 1.09 - 1.76). CONCLUSION: High social capital is associated with regular MVPA in boys and regular overall activity in girls. Intervention and policies that leverage community social capital might serve as an avenue for promotion of physical activity in youth.