Associations among neighborhood poverty, perceived neighborhood environment, and depressed mood are mediated by physical activity, perceived individual control, and loneliness.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kowitt SD
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9540601 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Associations among neighborhood poverty, perceived neighborhood environment, and depressed mood are mediated by physical activity, perceived individual control, and loneliness.
Kowitt Sarah D SD Aiello Allison E AE Callahan Leigh F LF Fisher Edwin B EB Gottfredson Nisha C NC Jordan Joanne M JM Muessig Kathryn E KE
Health & place 20200126
Few studies have documented the pathways through which individual level variables mediate the effects of neighborhoods on health. This study used structural equation modeling to examine if neighborhood characteristics are associated with depressive symptoms, and if so, what factors mediated these relationships. Cross-sectional data came from a sample of mostly rural, older adults in North Carolina (n = 1,558). Mediation analysis indicated that associations among neighborhood characteristics and ...[more]
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Project description:Background and objectivesSocial disconnectedness and loneliness pose significant challenges for older Chinese immigrants. Yet, it remains unclear whether they are associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline in this population. This study aimed to investigate the association of social disconnectedness and loneliness with cognitive functioning and examine the moderation role of neighborhood contexts.Research design and methodsThis longitudinal analysis examined a sample of individuals aged 60 years and older from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (N = 2,044). Global cognition was assessed using the averaged z-scores of cognitive performance tests. Social disconnectedness was constructed using 5 indicators about structural aspects of social relationships. Loneliness was assessed with the R-UCLA loneliness scale. Neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) and neighborhood segregation index were constructed using 2010-2014 American Community Survey data at the census tract level. Individual perceptions about neighborhood environments were used to construct neighborhood cohesion index and neighborhood disorder index (NDI). Latent growth curve models with adjusted cluster robust standard errors were estimated.ResultsMore loneliness was associated with a higher level of initial cognitive functioning (B = 0.030, p < .01), but also with a faster decline rate over time (B = -0.007, p < .01) after adjusting for covariates. High NSES and less neighborhood segregation buffered the negative effects of loneliness on cognitive decline, respectively. High NDI amplified the positive relationship between loneliness and initial functioning, but accelerated the rate of cognitive decline associated with loneliness.Discussion and implicationsThe study revealed that perceived loneliness, but not social disconnectedness, is a risk factor for cognitive decline among older Chinese immigrants. Living in a neighborhood with low socioeconomic status, more segregation, and high disorder elevated the detrimental effect of loneliness on long-term cognitive decline. Further research needs to investigate the complex interplay between social relationships, neighborhood environment, and cognition.
| S-EPMC10946307 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundLittle is known about the associations between perceived neighborhood social environment (PNSE) and depressive symptoms among African Americans. Furthermore, the role of physical activity (PA) as a mediator of this association has not been investigated. The two-fold objectives of this study, therefore, were (1) to examine the associations between PNSE and depressive symptoms among African Americans, and (2) to test the degree to which these associations were mediated by total PA.MethodsWe used baseline data from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), a single-site, prospective, community-based study of African-American adults (n = 2209) recruited from Jackson, Mississippi. PNSE variables included scores for neighborhood violence (i.e., higher score = more violence), problems (higher score = more problems), and social cohesion (higher score = more cohesion). Depressive symptoms were measured by the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) score. First, multilevel modeling, controlling for census tract clustering effects, was used to estimate associations between each PNSE variable and CES-D score, adjusting for covariates, including demographic, health-related, and population density. Second, validated, self-reported total PA, based on active living, sport, and home indices, was tested as the mediator. Multivariable linear regressions with bootstrap-generated 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals (BC CIs) were estimated to test for significant unstandardized indirect effects, controlling for all covariates.ResultsOur participants were 64.2% female with a mean age of 52.6 (SD = 12.2) and a mean CES-D score of 10.8 (SD = 8.1). In the fully-adjusted model, neighborhood violence and problems were positively related to depressive symptoms (B = 3.59, 95%CI = 0.93, 6.26, and B = 3.06, 95%CI = 1.19, 4.93, respectively). Neighborhood violence and problems were also indirectly related to depressive symptoms via total PA (B = 0.26, 95%BC CI = 0.05, 0.55; and B = 0.15, 95%BC CI = 0.02, 0.34, respectively). Social cohesion was neither directly nor indirectly related to depressive symptoms.ConclusionsWe found that higher levels of perceived neighborhood problems and violence were directly and positively associated with depressive symptoms. These associations may be explained in part by lower total PA levels. Future interventions to reduce depressive symptoms attributed to neighborhood features should consider emphasizing built environment features that facilitate PA increases in conjunction with community efforts to reduce neighborhood violence and problems.
| S-EPMC7350640 | biostudies-literature
Project description:There is accumulating evidence supporting the association between neighborhood built environments and adults' physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST); however, few studies have investigated these associations in adolescents. A better understanding of the features of the built environment that encourage PA or ST is therefore of critical importance to promote health and wellbeing in adolescents. The aim of this study was to estimate the associations of GIS-determined and perceived walkability components in individual residential buffer zones with accelerometer-assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and ST in adolescents.The Built Environment in Adolescent New Zealanders (BEANZ) study was conducted in two cities (Auckland and Wellington) during the 2013-2014 academic school years. The exposure measures were subjective and objective environmental indices of activity-friendliness using four residential buffers. Road network buffers were calculated around participant's residential addresses using the sausage buffer approach at 250 m, 500 m, 1 km, and 2 km scales. A 25 m radius was used for the buffers. Data were analysed using Generalized Additive Mixed Models in R.Data were analysed from 524 participants (15.78 ± 1.62 years; 45% male). Participants accumulated ~114 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and ~354 min/day of ST during accelerometer wear-time (~828 min/day). The estimated difference in MVPA between participants with the 1st and 3rd quartiles observed values on the composite subjective environmental index of activity-friendliness (perceived land use mix - diversity, street connectivity and aesthetics) was equivalent to ~8 min/day (~56 MVPA min/week) and for the objective environmental index of activity-friendliness (gross residential density and number of parks within 2 km distance from home) was ~6 min of MVPA/day (~45 MVPA min/week). When both indices were entered in a main-effect model, both indices remained significantly correlated with MVPA with sex as a moderator. The predicted difference in sedentary time between those with the minimum and maximum observed values on the subjective index of non-sedentariness was ~20 min/day.The combined assessment of the main effects of subjective and objective indices of activity-friendliness on NZ adolescents' PA and ST showed positive relationships with MVPA for the subjective index only. The subjective index was a significant correlate of PA in both girls and boys, while the objective index was significant only in boys when sex was entered as a moderator. Further research is warranted to understand the relationships of ST with the built environment.
| S-EPMC5655834 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThis secondary data analysis examined associations among perceived neighborhood environmental factors, physical activity (PA), and the presence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in Mexican-American (MA) adults. Seventy-five MA adults (mean age of 37.9 ± 9.3 years) provided anthropometric, biomarker, and survey data. The Neighborhood Scales Questionnaire evaluated six perceived neighborhood factors: walking environment, aesthetic quality, safety, violence, social cohesion, and activities with neighbors. The Rapid Assessment of PA questionnaire assessed PA. MS was determined according to ATP III criteria.ResultsPA was significantly associated with MS (OR = .338, CI .204-.738). Neighborhood factors of safety (B = .255, p = .024), walking environment (B = .384, p = .001), and social cohesion (B = .230, p = .043) were positively associated with PA. No other neighborhood factors were significantly related to PA. Analyses examining whether neighborhood factors moderated the relationship between PA and MS were not significant.
| S-EPMC7320589 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSeveral features of the neighborhood built environment have been shown to promote leisure-time physical activity (PA) in the general population, but few studies have examined its impact on PA during pregnancy.MethodsData were extracted from 8362 Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be cohort participants (2010-2013). Residential address information was linked to 3 built environment characteristics: number of gyms and recreation areas within a 3-km radius of residence and census block level walkability. Self-reported leisure-time PA was measured in each trimester and dichotomized as meeting PA guidelines or not. Relative risks for cross-sectional associations between neighborhood characteristics and meeting PA guidelines were estimated using Poisson regression.ResultsMore gyms and recreation areas were each associated with a greater chance of meeting PA guidelines in models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and preexisting conditions. Associations were strongest in the third trimester where each doubling in counts of gyms and recreation areas was associated with 10% (95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.13) and 8% (95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.12), respectively, greater likelihood of meeting PA guidelines. Associations were similar though weaker for walkability.ConclusionsResults from a large, multisite cohort suggest that these built environment characteristics have similar PA-promoting benefits in pregnant women as seen in more general populations.
| S-EPMC8653571 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hopelessness is one of the strongest predictors of health and mortality, particularly for older populations. Prior research has found associations between individual-level socioeconomic factors and hopelessness, but less is known about the potential importance of neighborhood-level socioeconomic contexts for hopelessness. In particular, the role of neighborhood disorder as a potential explanatory factor for poor psychological well-being remains underexplored. This study investigates whether neighborhood poverty is associated with a sense of hopelessness among older adults and if perceived neighborhood disorder mediates the link between poverty and hopelessness. Individual-level data came from the 2014/2016 Health and Retirement Study and were merged with neighborhood-level poverty data from the 2012-2016 and 2014-2018 American Community Survey. Linear regression models were employed to examine the association between neighborhood poverty, disorder, and hopelessness. Respondents in neighborhoods with higher poverty levels reported a greater sense of hopelessness (b = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.08, 0.15, p < .001), controlling for individual-level sociodemographic and health characteristics. Greater perceived neighborhood disorder was also positively associated with a sense of hopelessness (b = 0.16, 95%CI = 0.14, 0.18). When we included both neighborhood poverty and disorder in the same model, the association between neighborhood poverty and hopelessness was reduced by two thirds (b = 0.04, 95%CI = 0.0003, 0.07), while the association between perceived disorder and hopelessness remained robust (b = 0.16, 95%CI = 0.14, 0.18). We further examined the formal mediating effects of neighborhood disorder using structural equation modeling. The total effect of neighborhood poverty on hopelessness was significant (β = 0.08, bootstrapped 95%CI = 0.05, 0.10). The direct effect of neighborhood poverty was not significant (β = 0.02, bootstrapped 95% CI = -0.01, 0.04), while the indirect effect through neighborhood disorder was significant (β = 0.06, bootstrapped 95% CI = 0.05, 0.07). Neighborhood disorder mediated 75% of the association between neighborhood poverty and hopelessness. In light of these findings, improving neighborhood conditions, such as signs of disorder, may alleviate feelings of hopelessness in older adults residing in impoverished neighborhoods.
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Project description:ObjectiveIrritability has been proposed to underlie the developmental link between oppositional problems and depression. Little is known, however, about the genetic and environmental influences on irritability and its overlap with depression. Drawing on the notion of "generalist genes" (genes of general effect that underlie phenotypic overlap between disorders), the authors test the hypothesis that the association between irritability and depression is accounted for by genetic factors.MethodData from the G1219 study, a U.K. twin/sibling sample (N=2,651), were used in a cross-sectional and longitudinal design. The irritable and headstrong/hurtful dimensions of oppositional behavior were derived using factor analysis. Regression was used to estimate the association between depression and delinquency. Multivariate genetic analyses were used to estimate the genetic overlaps between the two components of oppositionality (irritability and headstrong/hurtful behaviors) and depression and delinquency.ResultsIrritability showed a significantly stronger phenotypic relationship with depression than with delinquency, whereas headstrong/hurtful behaviors were more strongly related to delinquency than to depression. In multivariate genetic analyses, the genetic correlation between irritability and depression (r(A)=0.70, 95% CI=0.59-0.82) was significantly higher than that between headstrong/hurtful behaviors and depression (r(A)=0.46, 95% CI=0.36-0.57); [corrected] conversely, the genetic correlation between headstrong/hurtful behaviors and delinquency (r(A)=0.80, 95% CI=0.72-0.86) was significantly higher than that between irritability and delinquency (r(A)=0.57, 95% CI=0.45-0.69). [corrected].ConclusionsThese findings are consistent with the theory that genes with general effects underlie the relationship between irritability and depression.
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Project description:Background: Despite improvements, air pollution still remains a major public health issue. Numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated the adverse health effects of air pollution exposure based on modeled measures, but only a few have considered the health impact of perceived air quality. Improving our knowledge of individual perceptions is crucial to defining targeted actions and promoting appropriate intervention measures. Our objective is to investigate the relationship between subjective and objective measures of air pollution and to focus on how individual characteristics combined with the neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation index, measured at a fine spatial scale, may or may not alter this relationship. Materials and Methods: The subjective measures of air quality reported by a sample of Lyon residents were collected via an individual questionnaire. The objective measures of air pollution were modeled by the local air quality monitoring network of the Rhône-Alpes region at census block level. We used a socioeconomic deprivation index to capture the different socioeconomic dimensions at census block level. The statistical analysis was structured in two steps: (1) identification of individual determinants of the subjective measures of air quality using multiple correspondence analysis followed by hierarchical clustering; (2) identification of individual and contextual characteristics that may alter the relationship between the objective and subjective measures of air pollution. Results: Among the youngest and the middle aged population (ages 30 to 59), consistent results between level of satisfaction, perceived air quality and objective measures of air pollution were found whatever the individual characteristics of the population. It is less clear among the oldest population: globally no significant difference between the NO₂ concentrations and the level of satisfaction was observed. Conclusions: We found a significant relationship between the subjective and objective measures of air pollution in many population sub-groups with different combinations of individual characteristics. The relationship is less clear among the oldest population, which confirms previous findings. Our finding highlights that age combined with low level of education and unemployment, or women or health problems as well as the neighborhood deprivation index influence the level of air quality satisfaction.
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Project description:Neighborhood parks are important venues for the urban population to do moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in leisure time. Parks can be particularly important for low-income neighborhoods, whose residents suffer from high rates of chronic diseases and may have less access to fee-based fitness exercise facilities. This study assessed the contribution of parks to local populations' physical activity in 48 high-poverty neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles, using systematic observation of park use and surveys of park users and residents conducted between 2013 and 2015. We found that parks accounted for approximately 2.1% (between-park SD?=?1.4%) of moderate physical activity time and 3.1% (between-park SD?=?2.1%) of vigorous physical activity time of the local population, both of which were notably lower than the city-level average previously reported. Parks' contribution to physical activity was positively associated with park size (??=?0.13, p?<?0.0001) and negatively associated with poverty (??=?-?0.10, p?<?0.0001) and local population density (??=?-?0.25, p?=?0.005). Parks in high-poverty neighborhoods in Los Angeles are underutilized, and more efforts are needed to fully realize their potential for population health.
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