Neighborhood level risk factors for type 1 diabetes in youth: the SEARCH case-control study

Abstract

BackgroundEuropean ecologic studies suggest higher socioeconomic status is associated with higher incidence of type 1 diabetes. Using data from a case-control study of diabetes among racially/ethnically diverse youth in the United States (U.S.), we aimed to evaluate the independent impact of neighborhood characteristics on type 1 diabetes risk. Data were available for 507 youth with type 1 diabetes and 208 healthy controls aged 10-22 years recruited in South Carolina and Colorado in 2003-2006. Home addresses were used to identify Census tracts of residence. Neighborhood-level variables were obtained from 2000 U.S. Census. Multivariate generalized linear mixed models were applied.ResultsControlling for individual risk factors (age, gender, race/ethnicity, infant feeding, birth weight, maternal age, number of household residents, parental education, income, state), higher neighborhood household income (p = 0.005), proportion of population in managerial jobs (p = 0.02), with at least high school education (p = 0.005), working outside the county (p = 0.04) and vehicle ownership (p = 0.03) were each independently associated with increased odds of type 1 diabetes. Conversely, higher percent minority population (p = 0.0003), income from social security (p = 0.002), proportion of crowded households (0.0497) and poverty (p = 0.008) were associated with a decreased odds.ConclusionsOur study suggests that neighborhood characteristics related to greater affluence, occupation, and education are associated with higher type 1 diabetes risk. Further research is needed to understand mechanisms underlying the influence of neighborhood context.

A systematic review of socioeconomic position in relation to asthma and allergic diseases

“…Higher prevalence rates of allergies in higher social groups have been considered consistent with the hygiene hypothesis, which has also been linked to the lack of a social gradient or inverse social gradient for other immune disorders (e.g. type 1 diabetes) [63,64]. In contrast to evidence supporting the hygiene hypothesis, a Korean study found higher rates of sensitisation to most allergies in children with a higher household income, while sensitisation to cockroach allergen was more common in children of lower SEP [65].…”

Intra- and Interseasonal Autoregressive Prediction of Dengue Outbreaks Using Local Weather and Regional Climate for a Tropical Environment in Colombia

“…Patterns of spatial variability across endemic regions (such as Colombia) may be related to variations in the built environment, ecology, local weather and climate, population density/migration, mitigation efforts, and host mobility. A few recent studies have evaluated spatial dengue transmission pattern, but unique site-specific factors limit the extrapolation of their results to other geographic regions 4,43,59,67. Given that global climate change is expected to spread the risk of dengue fever into higher latitudes and higher elevations and to a greater percentage of the global population,9,11,16 such efforts could provide effective regional EWSs for all at-risk populations.…”

“…Current estimates suggest that up to 100 million dengue cases occur annually, of which 1 million cases require hospitalization for the most serious form: severe dengue (formerly known as dengue hemorrhagic fever). Across Latin America, despite largely successful efforts in the 1940s to eradicate the primary dengue fever vector—the female Aedes aegypti mosquito—from most countries,2 dengue has gradually re-emerged across the continent because of several factors, including re-emergence of the vector, population growth, increased global travel, diversification of viral strains, and insecticide resistance 3,4. Rapidly growing urban areas are most vulnerable because of poorly planned urbanizations and migrations.…”

Neighbourhood greenspace is associated with a slower decline in physical activity in older adults: A prospective cohort study

“…However, recent research from studies employing global positioning systems to track movement suggests that 800m may be overly conservative (Boruff, Nathan, & Nijenstein, 2012), and that individuals typically travel greater distances to access resources and be physically active (Hurvitz & Moudon, 2012). Indeed, Hillsdon, Coombes, Griew, and Jones (2015) suggest that most activity is undertaken outside of the proximal home environment (800 m), even for older adults (56.3%), noting that there was little variation according to age.…”