Individual physical activity, neighbourhood active living environment and mental illness hospitalisation among adults with cardiometabolic disease: a Canadian population-based cohort analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This population-based observational study explores the associations between individual-level and neighbourhood-level indices of active living with inpatient mental healthcare use among adults with an underlying chronic cardiometabolic condition. DESIGN AND SETTING: Data from the 2013-2014 Canadian Community Health Survey were linked longitudinally to hospital records from the 2013/2014‒2017/2018 Discharge Abstract Database and to a geocoded measure of active living environments (ALE). Relationships between individuals' leisure-time physical activity and neighbourhood ALE with risk of hospital admission for mental health disorders were assessed using multivariable Cox regressions. PARTICIPANTS: A national cohort was identified from the survey data of 24 960 respondents aged 35 years and above reporting having been diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension and/or heart disease. OUTCOME MEASURE: Potentially avoidable hospitalisation for a mood, anxiety or substance use disorder over a 5-year period. RESULTS: More than half (52%) of adults aged 35 years and above with a cardiometabolic disease were physically inactive in their daily lives, and one-third (34%) resided in the least activity-friendly neighbourhoods. The rate of being hospitalised at least once for a comorbid mental disorder averaged 8.1 (95% CI: 7.0 to 9.3) per 1000 person-years of exposure. Individuals who were at least moderately active were half as likely to be hospitalised for a comorbid mental health problem compared with those who were inactive (HR: 0.50 (95% CI: 0.38 to 0.65)). No statistically discernible associations between neighbourhood ALE and hospitalisation risks were found after controlling for individuals' behaviours and characteristics, including in separate models stratified by age group and by sex. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence base to support prioritisation of interventions focusing on the built environment favouring mental health-promoting physical activity among higher-risk adults at the population level, independently of individual-level behaviours and characteristics, remains limited.

The role of neighbourhood environments in hospitalization risk for diabetes and related conditions: A population-based cohort analysis by remoteness and deprivation indices.

Background: Most socio-epidemiological studies on diabetes incidence, prevalence, or hospitalization focus on individual-level risk factors. This population-based cohort study sought to advance understanding on the associations of contextual characteristics and risk of diabetes-related avoidable hospitalization (DRAH) among at-risk Canadians. Data and methods: A national cohort was compiled from the 2013/2014 Canadian Community Health Survey, representing 5.1 million adults aged 35 years and older, reporting having been diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, or heart disease. Their information was linked longitudinally to hospitalization data from the 2013/14 to 2017/18 Discharge Abstract Database as well as to measures of geographic variability from the Material and Social Deprivation Index and the Index of Remoteness. Cox regression models were used to examine associations between the contextual indices and first occurrence of a DRAH. Results: Residents in the most rural and remote communities were 50% more likely (hazard ratio (HR): 1.51, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.26 to 1.80) to experience a DRAH than those in the most urbanized and accessible communities, and residents in the most socially deprived areas were significantly more likely (HR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.26 to 1.65) to be hospitalized than those in the most socially privileged areas, controlling for individuals' sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviours. Neighbourhood material deprivation did not exercise a statistically significant influence on hospitalization risk after adjusting for the other residential characteristics. Interpretation: There is a clear and significant gradient in diabetes-related hospitalization risk among Canadians with an underlying cardiometabolic condition by degree of residential remoteness and of neighbourhood social deprivation, independently of individual characteristics and despite Canada's universal healthcare system.

Neighbourhood characteristics related to mental health service use among adults with diabetes: a population-based cohort study in New Brunswick, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: It has been postulated that social and economic inequalities may shape the distributions of comorbid diabetes and mental illness. This observational cohort study using linked population-based administrative and geospatial datasets aimed to describe associations between neighbourhood socioenvironments and disorder-specific mental health service use among adults with diabetes in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. RESULTS: A baseline cohort of 66,275 persons aged 19 and over living with diabetes was identified. One-quarter (26.3%) had used healthcare services for mood and anxiety disorders at least once during the six-year follow-up period 2012/2013-2017/2018. Based on Cox proportional hazards models, the risk of mental health service contacts was significantly higher among those residing in the most materially deprived neighbourhoods [HR: 1.07 (95% CI: 1.01-1.14)] compared to those in the least so, and those in areas characterized with the highest residential instability [HR: 1.13 (95% CI: 1.05-1.22)] compared to those in areas with the lowest instability. Among adults with incident diabetes (N = 4410), age and sex but not neighbourhood factors were related to differential help-seeking behaviours for mental health problems. These findings underscored the gap between theoretical postulations and population-based observations in delineating the syndemics of neighbourhood socioenvironments and mental health outcomes in populations with high diabetes prevalence.

Gendering Neighbourhood Marginalization Metrics in Mental Health Services Research: A Cross-Sectional Exploration of a Rural and Small Urban Population.

Background: Little is known about the extent to which socioenvironmental characteristics may influence mental health outcomes in smaller population centres or differently among women and men. This study used a gender-based analysis approach to explore individual- and neighbourhood-level sex differences in mental health service use in a context of uniquely smaller urban and rural settlements. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis leveraged multiple person-based administrative health datasets linked with geospatial datasets among the population aged 1 and over in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. We used multinomial logistic regression to examine associations between neighbourhood characteristics with risk of service contacts for mood and anxiety disorders in 2015/2016, characterizing the areal measures among all residents (gender neutral) and by males and females separately (gender specific), and controlling for age group. Results: Among the province's 707,575 eligible residents, 10.7% (females: 14.0%; males: 7.3%) used mental health services in the year of observation. In models adjusted for gender-neutral neighbourhood characteristics, service contacts were significantly more likely among persons residing in the most materially deprived areas compared with the least (OR = 1.09 [95% CI: 1.05-1.12]); when stratified by individuals' sex, the risk pattern held for females (OR = 1.13 [95% CI: 1.09-1.17]) but not males (OR = 1.00 [95% CI: 0.96-1.05]). Residence in the most female-specific materially deprived neighbourhoods was independently associated with higher risk of mental health service use among individual females (OR = 1.08 [95% CI: 1.02-1.14]) but not among males (OR = 1.02 [95% CI: 0.95-1.10]). Conclusion: These findings emphasize that research needs to better integrate sex and gender in contextual measures aiming to inform community interventions and neighbourhood designs, notably in small urban and rural settings, to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in the burden of mental disorders.

Neighbourhood environments and the risk of hospital admission for cardiometabolic and mental health comorbidities in multiple sclerosis: A population cohort analysis using linked administrative data.

This study exploits administrative data for neuroepidemiological research and examines associations between neighbourhood environments and risk of hospitalization among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in New Brunswick, Canada. We created a provincial database of MS patients by linking administrative health records with geographic-based characteristics of local communities. Using Cox models, we found the risk of admission for cardiometabolic complications was lower among residents of ethnically homogeneous neighbourhoods (hazards ratio [HR]: 0.75 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.60-0.95]); that for mental health disorders was higher in socioeconomically deprived (HR: 1.80 [95% CI: 1.06-3.05]) and residentially unstable (HR: 1.61 [95% CI: 1.05-2.46]) neighbourhoods. Results suggest that selected neighbourhood environments may be associated with differential hospital burden among MS patients.

Healthcare Service Use for Mood and Anxiety Disorders Following Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Cohort Study of the Role of Neighbourhood Socioenvironmental Characteristics in a Largely Rural Population.

Depression and other mood and anxiety disorders are recognized as common complications following cardiac events. Some studies report poorer cardiac outcomes among patients in socioeconomically marginalized neighbourhoods. This study aimed to describe associations between socioeconomic and built environment characteristics of neighbourhood environments and mental health service contacts following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI or heart attack) among adults in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. This province is characterized largely by residents in small towns and rural areas. A cohort of all adults aged 45 and over surviving AMI and without a recent record of mental disorders was identified by linking provincial medical-administrative datasets. Residential histories were tracked over time to assign neighbourhood measures of marginalization, local climate zones, and physical activity friendliness (i.e., walkability). Cox models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of healthcare use for mood and anxiety disorders over the period 2003/04-2015/16 by neighbourhood characteristics. The baseline cohort included 13,330 post-AMI patients, among whom 32.5% were found to have used healthcare services for a diagnosed mood or anxiety disorder at least once during the period of observation. Among men, an increased risk of mental health service use was found among those living in areas characterized by high ethnic concentration (HR: 1.14 (95%CI: 1.03-1.25)). Among women, the risk was significantly higher among those in materially deprived neighbourhoods (HR: 1.16 (95%CI: 1.01-1.33)). We found no convincing evidence of associations between this outcome and the other neighbourhood characteristics considered here. These results suggest that selected features of neighbourhood environments may increase the burden on the healthcare system for mental health comorbidities among adults with cardiovascular disease. Further research is needed to understand the differing needs of socioeconomically marginalized populations to improve mental health outcomes following an acute cardiac event, specifically in the context of smaller and rural communities and of universal healthcare coverage.

Exposure to traffic and mortality risk in the 1991-2011 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC).

There is evidence that local traffic density and living near major roads can adversely affect health outcomes. We aimed to assess the relationship between local road length, proximity to primary highways, and cause-specific mortality in the 1991 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC). In this long-term study of 2.6 million people, based on completion of the long-form census in 1991 and followed until 2011, we used annual residential addresses to determine the total length of local roads within 200 m of postal code representative points and the postal code's distance to primary highways. The association between exposure to traffic and cause-specific non-accidental mortality was estimated using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for individual covariates and contextual factors, including census division-level proportion in high school, the percentage of recent immigrants, and neighborhood income. We performed sensitivity analyses, including adjustment for exposure to PM2.5, NO2, or O3, restricting to subjects in core urban areas, and spatial variation by climatic zone. The hazard ratio (HR) for all non-accidental mortality associated with an interquartile increase in length of local roads was 1.05 (95% CI 1.04, 1.05), while for an interquartile range increase in proximity to primary highways, the HR was 1.03 (95% CI 1.02, 1.04). HRs by traffic quartile increased with increasing lengths of local roads, as well as with closer proximity to primary highways, for all mortality causes. The associations were stronger within subjects' resident in urban core areas, attenuated by adjustment for PM2.5, and HRs showed limited spatial variation by climatic zone. In the CanCHEC cohort, exposure to higher road density and proximity to major traffic roads was associated with increased mortality risk from cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, COPD, respiratory disease, and lung cancer, with unclear results for diabetes.

Associations between long-term PM2.5 and ozone exposure and mortality in the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CANCHEC), by spatial synoptic classification zone.

Studies suggest that long-term chronic exposure to fine particulate matter air pollution can increase lung cancer mortality. We analyzed the association between long term PM2.5 and ozone exposure and mortality due to lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, accounting for geographic location, socioeconomic status, and residential mobility. Subjects in the 1991 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC) were followed for 20years, and assigned to regions across Canada based on spatial synoptic classification weather types. Hazard ratios (HR) for mortality, were related to PM2.5 and ozone using Cox proportional hazards survival models, adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics and individual confounders. An increase of 10µg/m3 in long term PM2.5 exposure resulted in an HR for lung cancer mortality of 1.26 (95% CI 1.04, 1.53); the inclusion in the model of SSC zone as a stratum increased the risk estimate to HR 1.29 (95% CI 1.06, 1.57). After adjusting for ozone, HRs increased to 1.49 (95% CI 1.23, 1.88), and HR 1.54 (95% CI 1.27, 1.87), with and without zone as a model stratum. HRs for ischemic heart disease fell from 1.25 (95% CI 1.21, 1.29) for exposure to PM2.5, to 1.13 (95% CI 1.08, 1.19) when PM2.5 was adjusted for ozone. For COPD, the 95% confidence limits included 1.0 when climate zone was included in the model. HRs for all causes of death showed spatial differences when compared to zone 3, the most populated climate zone. Exposure to PM2.5 was related to an increased risk of mortality from lung cancer, and both ozone and PM2.5 exposure were related to risk of mortality from ischemic heart disease, and the risk varied spatially by climate zone.

Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter air pollution and the risk of lung cancer among participants of the Canadian National Breast Screening Study.

Recently, air pollution has been classified as a carcinogen largely on the evidence of epidemiological studies of lung cancer. However, there have been few prospective studies that have evaluated associations between fine particulate matter (PM2.5 ) and cancer at lower concentrations. We conducted a prospective analysis of 89,234 women enrolled in the Canadian National Breast Screening Study between 1980 and 1985, and for whom residential measures of PM2.5 could be assigned. The cohort was linked to the Canadian Cancer Registry to identify incident lung cancers through 2004. Surface PM2.5 concentrations were estimated using satellite data. Cox proportional hazards models were used to characterize associations between PM2.5 and lung cancer. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) computed from these models were adjusted for several individual-level characteristics, including smoking. The cohort was composed predominantly of Canadian-born (82%), married (80%) women with a median PM2.5 exposure of 9.1 µg/m(3) . In total, 932 participants developed lung cancer. In fully adjusted models, a 10 µg/m(3) increase in PM2.5 was associated with an elevated risk of lung cancer (HR: 1.34; 95% CI = 1.10, 1.65). The strongest associations were observed with small cell carcinoma (HR: 1.53; 95% CI = 0.93, 2.53) and adenocarcinoma (HR: 1.44; 95% CI = 1.06, 1.97). Stratified analyses suggested increased PM2.5 risks were limited to those who smoked cigarettes. Our findings are consistent with previous epidemiological investigations of long-term exposure to PM2.5 and lung cancer. Importantly, they suggest associations persist at lower concentrations such as those currently found in Canadian cities.