Neighborhood Social Resources and Depressive Symptoms: Longitudinal Results from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

The ways in which a neighborhood environment may affect depression and depressive symptoms have not been thoroughly explored. This study used longitudinal data from 5475 adults in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis to investigate associations of time-varying depressive symptoms between 2000 and 2012 (measured using the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)) with survey-based measures of neighborhood safety and social cohesion (both individual-level perceptions and neighborhood-level aggregates) and densities of social engagement destinations. Linear mixed models were used to examine associations of baseline cross-sectional associations and cumulative exposures with changes over time in CES-D. Econometric fixed effects models were utilized to investigate associations of within-person changes in neighborhood exposures with within-person changes in CES-D. Adjusting for relevant covariates, higher safety and social cohesion and greater density of social engagement destinations were associated with lower CES-D at baseline. Greater cumulative exposure to these features was not associated with progression of CES-D over 10 years. Within-person increases in safety and in social cohesion were associated with decreases in CES-D, although associations with cohesion were not statistically significant. Social elements of neighborhoods should be considered by community planners and public health practitioners to achieve optimal mental health

Neighborhood Physical Environment and Changes in Body Mass Index: Results From the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Longitudinal associations between neighborhood characteristics and body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)2) were assessed from 2000 to 2011 among 5,919 participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. The perceived availability of healthy food and walking environment were assessed via surveys, and 1-mile (1.6-km) densities of supermarkets, fruit-and-vegetable stores, and recreational facilities were obtained through a commercial database. Econometric fixed-effects models were used to estimate the association between within-person changes in neighborhood characteristics and within-person change in BMI. In fully adjusted models, a 1-standard-deviation increase in the healthy food environment index was associated with a 0.16-kg/m2 decrease in BMI (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.27, -0.06) among participants with obesity at baseline. A 1-standard-deviation increase in the physical activity environment index was associated with 0.13-kg/m2 (95% CI: -0.24, -0.02) and 0.14-kg/m2 (95% CI: -0.27, -0.01) decreases in BMI for participants who were overweight and obese at baseline, respectively. Paradoxically, increases in the physical activity index were associated with BMI increases in persons who were normal-weight at baseline. This study provides preliminary longitudinal evidence that favorable changes in neighborhood physical environments are related to BMI reductions in obese persons, who comprise a substantial proportion of the US population

Gene-by-Psychosocial Factor Interactions Influence Diastolic Blood Pressure in European and African Ancestry Populations: Meta-Analysis of Four Cohort Studies

Inter-individual variability in blood pressure (BP) is influenced by both genetic and non-genetic factors including socioeconomic and psychosocial stressors. A deeper understanding of the gene-by-socioeconomic/psychosocial factor interactions on BP may help to identify individuals that are genetically susceptible to high BP in specific social contexts. In this study, we used a genomic region-based method for longitudinal analysis, Longitudinal Gene-Environment-Wide Interaction Studies (LGEWIS), to evaluate the effects of interactions between known socioeconomic/psychosocial and genetic risk factors on systolic and diastolic BP in four large epidemiologic cohorts of European and/or African ancestry. After correction for multiple testing, two interactions were significantly associated with diastolic BP. In European ancestry participants, outward/trait anger score had a significant interaction with the C10orf107 genomic region (p = 0.0019). In African ancestry participants, depressive symptom score had a significant interaction with the HFE genomic region (p = 0.0048). This study provides a foundation for using genomic region-based longitudinal analysis to identify subgroups of the population that may be at greater risk of elevated BP due to the combined influence of genetic and socioeconomic/psychosocial risk factors

Neighborhood Social Resources and Depressive Symptoms: Longitudinal Results from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

The ways in which a neighborhood environment may affect depression and depressive symptoms have not been thoroughly explored. This study used longitudinal data from 5475 adults in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis to investigate associations of time-varying depressive symptoms between 2000 and 2012 (measured using the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)) with survey-based measures of neighborhood safety and social cohesion (both individual-level perceptions and neighborhood-level aggregates) and densities of social engagement destinations. Linear mixed models were used to examine associations of baseline cross-sectional associations and cumulative exposures with changes over time in CES-D. Econometric fixed effects models were utilized to investigate associations of within-person changes in neighborhood exposures with within-person changes in CES-D. Adjusting for relevant covariates, higher safety and social cohesion and greater density of social engagement destinations were associated with lower CES-D at baseline. Greater cumulative exposure to these features was not associated with progression of CES-D over 10 years. Within-person increases in safety and in social cohesion were associated with decreases in CES-D, although associations with cohesion were not statistically significant. Social elements of neighborhoods should be considered by community planners and public health practitioners to achieve optimal mental health