The Relationship Between Perceived Neighborhood Disorder and Type 2 Diabetes Risk Across Different Racial/Ethnic Groups

Approximately 32 million Americans have Type 2 Diabetes and that number is growing rapidly. Type 2 Diabetes is sensitive to environmental factors, and higher prevalence rates are often observed in disordered neighborhoods (i.e., those with more trash and vandalism). Through discriminatory practices such as redlining, racially restrictive covenants, urban renewal, and gentrification, marginalized racial/ethnic groups are more likely to live in disordered neighborhoods compared to non-Hispanic Whites. These disparities may also contribute to similar disparities in Type 2 Diabetes rates. Yet, research indicates that there may be racial/ethnic differences in the interpretation of neighborhood disorder as a threat to health and well-being. In the current study, Health and Retirement Study data were used to examine whether the relationship between perceived neighborhood disorder and Type 2 Diabetes risk differs across racial/ethnic groups. Participants reported their perceptions of disorder in their neighborhoods and whether or not they had been told by a physician that they had Type 2 Diabetes. A weighted logistic regression model was used to predict Type 2 Diabetes risk by perceived neighborhood disorder, race/ethnicity, and their interaction. Individual factors that may influence the development of Type 2 diabetes, such as education status, household wealth, sex, and age, were included as covariates. Results from the model indicated that non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic Others had higher Type 2 Diabetes risk compared to non-Hispanic Whites. In addition, more disorder was related to heightened Type 2 Diabetes risk. However, the null interaction suggested that the relationship between Type 2 Diabetes risk and perceived neighborhood disorder was consistent across the different racial/ethnic groups. These findings demonstrate that intervention programs designed to reduce disorder in neighborhoods may slow the increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes for diverse populations

Lifespan Urbanicity and Perceived Neighborhood Disorder on Cardiovascular Health

While there is some evidence indicating neighborhood characteristics (e.g. disorder and urbanicity) are related to poor health, few studies observe these characteristics simultaneously. Using the 2016 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this study observed two research questions. First, is urbanicity over the lifespan related to cardiovascular health. Second, do urbanicity and perceived neighborhood disorder predict cardiovascular health synergistically? HRS participants were asked whether they lived in an urban or rural neighborhood in childhood, and the 2013 Beale Continuum code was used to assess the participants’ current (adulthood) neighborhood. Participants self-reported whether they had been told by a doctor they had a heart condition and whether they perceived disorder in their neighborhoods. Weighted logistic regressions demonstrated that participants who consistently lived in urban neighborhoods over their lifespan had better heart health than those who had lived in rural areas in adulthood, regardless of the type of neighborhood they lived in, in childhood. This finding was further qualified by a significant interaction between adulthood urbanicity and perceived neighborhood disorder. However, although people perceiving their neighborhoods as more disordered had worse heart health, the interaction between perceived disorder and adulthood urbanicity was not significant. Nevertheless, a plot representing average heart health by urbanicity and perceived disorder indicated some evidence that perceived disorder was somewhat worse for the heart health of urban, relative to rural residents. These results suggest that disorder is a modifiable aspect of people’s neighborhoods that relates to poor heart health, particularly for residents of urban areas

Neighborhood Cohesion, Neighborhood Disorder, and Cardiometabolic Risk

Perceptions of neighborhood disorder (trash, vandalism) and cohesion (neighbors trust one another) are related to residents’ health. Affective and behavioral factors have been identified, but often in studies using geographically select samples. We use a nationally representative sample (n = 9032) of United States older adults from the Health and Retirement Study to examine cardiometabolic risk in relation to perceptions of neighborhood cohesion and disorder. Lower cohesion is significantly related to greater cardiometabolic risk in 2006/2008 and predicts greater risk four years later (2010/2012). The longitudinal relation is partially accounted for by anxiety and physical activity

Perceived Neighborhood Cohesion Buffers COVID-19 Impacts on Mental Health in a United States Sample

Objective This study examined whether perceived neighborhood cohesion (the extent to which neighbors trust and count on one another) buffers against the mental health effects of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The XXX University National COVID-19 and Mental Health Study surveyed US adults (N = 3965; M age = 39 years), measuring depressive symptoms, staying home more during than before the 2020 pandemic, and perceived neighborhood cohesion. Results A series of linear regressions indicated that perceiving one\u27s neighborhood as more cohesive was not only associated with fewer depressive symptoms, but also attenuated the relationship between spending more time at home during the pandemic and depressive symptoms. These relationships persisted even after taking into account several individual-level sociodemographic characteristics as well as multiple contextual features, i.e., median household income, population density, and racial/ethnic diversity of the zip codes in which participants resided. Conclusions Neighborhood cohesion may be leveraged to mitigate pandemic impacts on depressive symptoms

Perceived neighborhood cohesion buffers COVID-19 impacts on mental health in a United States sample.

ObjectiveThis study examined whether perceived neighborhood cohesion (the extent to which neighbors trust and count on one another) buffers against the mental health effects of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThe XXX University National COVID-19 and Mental Health Study surveyed US adults (N = 3965; M age = 39 years), measuring depressive symptoms, staying home more during than before the 2020 pandemic, and perceived neighborhood cohesion.ResultsA series of linear regressions indicated that perceiving one's neighborhood as more cohesive was not only associated with fewer depressive symptoms, but also attenuated the relationship between spending more time at home during the pandemic and depressive symptoms. These relationships persisted even after taking into account several individual-level sociodemographic characteristics as well as multiple contextual features, i.e., median household income, population density, and racial/ethnic diversity of the zip codes in which participants resided.ConclusionsNeighborhood cohesion may be leveraged to mitigate pandemic impacts on depressive symptoms