Dataset Information

Does the relationship between asthma and obesity differ by neighborhood?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Prior studies suggest that obesity may cause asthma. Obesity and asthma are prevalent in low-income urban neighborhoods, but the impact of obesity on asthma in such neighborhoods has not been examined.

Methods

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene surveyed 6119 adults age 18-54 years in 2002. Obesity was defined as body mass index > or = 30 kg/m(2) and current asthma as physician diagnosed asthma plus recent symptoms. We calculated prevalence (risk) differences (RD) and population attributable risk percents (PAR%).

Results

Obese individuals had a 2.0% (95% CI: 0.5%, 3.6%; p=0.01) higher risk of current asthma than normal weight individuals overall. Obesity was more common in low-income neighborhoods compared with middle-to-upper-income neighborhoods (23% vs. 14%, p<0.001), as was current asthma (6% vs. 4%, respectively, p=0.02). The risk of current asthma associated with obesity was similar in low-income (RD: 1.3%, 95% CI: -1.5%, 4.0%; p=0.36) and middle-to-upper-income neighborhoods (RD: 2.0%, 95% CI: 0.1%, 3.9%; p=0.04). The PAR% for asthma due to obesity was not greater in low-income (7.3%) than in middle-to-upper-income neighborhoods (7.7%).

Conclusions

It is unlikely that the excess asthma prevalence in urban low-income neighborhoods is disproportionately attributable to obesity. Instead, alternative causes of excess asthma should be sought.

SUBMITTER: Tonorezos ES

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3695444 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Does the relationship between asthma and obesity differ by neighborhood?

Tonorezos Emily S ES Karpati Adam M AM Wang Yuanjia Y Barr R Graham RG

Respiratory medicine 20080815 12

<h4>Background</h4>Prior studies suggest that obesity may cause asthma. Obesity and asthma are prevalent in low-income urban neighborhoods, but the impact of obesity on asthma in such neighborhoods has not been examined.<h4>Methods</h4>The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene surveyed 6119 adults age 18-54 years in 2002. Obesity was defined as body mass index > or = 30 kg/m(2) and current asthma as physician diagnosed asthma plus recent symptoms. We calculated prevalence (risk) ...[more]

PMID: 18707858

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:Although psychosocial stress can result in adverse health outcomes, little is known about how perceptions of neighborhood conditions, a measure of environment-derived stress, may impact obesity. The association between perceptions of neighborhood environment and obesity (defined as body mass index [BMI] ? 30 kg/m(2) ) among 5,907 participants in the Dallas Heart Study, a multi-ethnic, probability-based sample of Dallas County residents was examined. DESIGN AND METHODS:Participants were asked to respond to 18 questions about perceptions of their neighborhood. Factor analysis was used to identify three factors associated with neighborhood perceptions: neighborhood violence, physical environment, and social cohesion. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between each factor (higher quintile = more unfavorable perceptions) and the odds of obesity. RESULTS:Decreasing age, income, and education associated with unfavorable overall neighborhood perceptions and unfavorable perceptions about specific neighborhood factors (P trend <0.05 for all). Increasing BMI was associated with unfavorable perceptions about physical environment (P trend <0.05) but not violence or social cohesion. After adjustment for race, age, sex, income, education, and length of residence, physical environment perception score in the highest quintile remained associated with a 25% greater odds of obesity (OR 1.25, [95% CI 1.03-1.50]). Predictors of obesity related to environmental perceptions included heavy traffic (OR 1.39, [1.17-1.64]), trash/litter in neighborhood (OR 1.27, [1.01-1.46]), lack of recreational areas (OR 1.21, [1.01-1.46]), and lack of sidewalks (OR 1.25, [95% CI 1.04-1.51]). CONCLUSIONS:Thus, unfavorable perceptions of environmental physical conditions are related to increased obesity. Efforts to improve the physical characteristics of neighborhoods, or the perceptions of those characteristics, may assist in the prevention of obesity in this community.

Dataset Information

Does the relationship between asthma and obesity differ by neighborhood?

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Does the relationship between asthma and obesity differ by neighborhood?

Similar Datasets

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