August 26 | 2020

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Longitudinal impact of changes in the residential built environment on physical activity: findings from the ENABLE London cohort study.

Christelle Clary, Daniel Lewis, Elizabeth Limb, Claire M Nightingale, Bina Ram, Angie S Page, Ashley R Cooper, Anne Ellaway , Billie Giles-Corti, Peter H Whincup, Alicja R Rudnicka, Derek G Cook, Christopher G Owen, Steven Cummins.

Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2020 Aug 1;17(1):96. doi: 10.1186/s12966-020-01003-9

Abstract

Background: Previous research has reported associations between features of the residential built environment and physical activity but these studies have mainly been cross-sectional, limiting inference. This paper examines whether changes in a range of residential built environment features are associated with changes in measures of physical activity in adults. It also explores whether observed effects are moderated by socio-economic status.
Methods: Data from the Examining Neighbourhood Activity in Built Living Environments in London (ENABLE London) study were used. A cohort of 1278 adults seeking to move into social, intermediate, and market-rent East Village accommodation was recruited in 2013-2015, and followed up after 2 years. Accelerometer-derived steps (primary outcome), and GIS-derived measures of residential walkability, park proximity and public transport accessibility were obtained both at baseline and follow-up. Daily steps at follow-up were regressed on daily steps at baseline, change in built environment exposures and confounding variables using multilevel linear regression to assess if changes in neighbourhood walkability, park proximity and public transport accessibility were associated with changes in daily steps. We also explored whether observed effects were moderated by housing tenure as a marker of socio-economic status.
Results: Between baseline and follow-up, participants experienced a 1.4 unit (95%CI 1.2,1.6) increase in neighbourhood walkability; a 270 m (95%CI 232,307) decrease in distance to their nearest park; and a 0.7 point (95% CI 0.6,0.9) increase in accessibility to public transport. A 1 s.d. increase in neighbourhood walkability was associated with an increase of 302 (95%CI 110,494) daily steps. A 1 s.d. increase in accessibility to public transport was not associated with any change in steps overall, but was associated with a decrease in daily steps amongst social housing seekers (- 295 steps (95%CI – 595, 3), and an increase in daily steps for market-rent housing seekers (410 95%CI -191, 1010) (P-value for effect modification = 0.03).
Conclusion: Targeted changes in the residential built environment may result in increases in physical activity levels. However, the effect of improved accessibility to public transport may not be equitable, showing greater benefit to the more advantaged.

August 10 | 2020

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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.

Ismael Foroughi, Neeru Gupta, Dan Lawson Crouse.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(14), 4939; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17144939

Abstract

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.

August 4 | 2020

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Healthy built environment: Spatial patterns and relationships of multiple exposures and deprivation in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Dany Doiron, Eleanor M. Setton, Kerolyn Shairsingh, Michael Brauer, Perry Hystad, Nancy A. Ross, Jeffrey R. Brook.

Environment International, Volume 143, 2020, 106003.  Doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.106003.

Abstract

Background:Various aspects of the urban environment and neighbourhood socio-economic status interact with each other to affect health. Few studies to date have quantitatively assessed intersections of multiple urban environmental factors and their distribution across levels of deprivation.

Objectives: To explore the spatial patterns of urban environmental exposures within three large Canadian cities, assess how exposures are distributed across socio-economic deprivation gradients, and identify clusters of favourable or unfavourable environmental characteristics.

Methods: We indexed nationally standardized estimates of active living friendliness (i.e. “walkability”), NO2 air pollution, and greenness to 6-digit postal codes within the cities of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. We compared the distribution of within-city exposure tertiles across quintiles of material deprivation. Tertiles of each exposure were then overlaid with each other in order to identify potentially favorable (high walkability, low NO2, high greenness) and unfavorable (low walkability, high NO2, and low greenness) environments.

Results: In all three cities, high walkability was more common in least deprived areas and less prevalent in highly deprived areas. We also generally saw a greater prevalence of postal codes with high vegetation indices and low NO2 in areas with low deprivation, and a lower greenness prevalence and higher NO2 concentrations in highly deprived areas, suggesting environmental inequity is occurring. Our study showed that relatively few postal codes were simultaneously characterized by desirable or undesirable walkability, NO2 and greenness tertiles.

Discussion: Spatial analyses of multiple standardized urban environmental factors such as the ones presented in this manuscript can help refine municipal investments and policy priorities. This study illustrates a methodology to prioritize areas for interventions that increase active living and exposure to urban vegetation, as well as lower air pollution. Our results also highlight the importance of considering the intersections between the built environment and socio-economic status in city planning and urban public health decision-making.