Neighbourhood effects on body constitution–A case study of Hong Kong

Abstract

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has long perceived environment as an integral part of the development of body constitution, which is a personal state of health closely related to disease presence. Despite of the ever-growing studies on the clinical effectiveness of TCM and the scientific linking between body constitution and diseases, the geographical influence on body constitution has yet remained an unexplored territory. This study sought to investigate whether the neighbourhood environment is relevant to the composition of body type of a population through statistical multilevel and Geographic Information Systems modelling. The analysis comprised 3277 participants who had completed their body type assessment between 2009 and 2012 inclusive. The multilevel analysis also took simultaneous accounts of both individual-level (gender, age, BMI, type of housing) and area-level (percent greenery, percent road surface, total road intersection, sky view factor, temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and social deprivation index) characteristics to explain geographical variation by body types. Significant random or place effects (p < 0.001) were identified in the multilevel models. The spatial variation of body constitution involved the dynamic interplay between individual and environmental factors. The findings amassed the first scientific indications to back the common belief that place does play a role in the development of body constitution and is worthy of further investigation. By considering spatial and personal attributes simultaneously, the study can yield valuable insights into the patterning of area variation in body constitution and disease presence.

The role of severity perceptions and beliefs in natural infections in Shanghai parents’ vaccine decision-making: a qualitative study

“…A highly prevalent belief was that the physical constitution of a child could affect their receptivity to vaccines. Previous studies have investigated the phenomenon of physical constitution (alternately translated as body or personal constitution) in East Asia, although these mainly focused on characterizing distribution of various manifestations of physical constitution and its relation to chronic disease in adult populations [ 24 , 25 ]. Although the respondents in our study referred to physical constitution in an abstract sense, it derives from standard clinical practices within traditional Chinese medicine which seek to predict a patient’s propensity for disease or health based on imbalances within the body or between the body and environment [ 26 ].…”

Association between Nine Types of TCM Constitution and Five Chronic Diseases: A Correspondence Analysis Based on a Sample of 2,660 Participants

“…More chronic diseases are recommended to be evaluated in further studies. Third, TCM constitution is also correlated with other factors like eating habits, geological locations, and climates [ 36 ]. It would be better to recruit more participants in different areas and to further analyze the correlations between TCM constitution types and chronic diseases in the future.…”

Are Changes in Neighbourhood Perceptions Associated with Changes in Self-Rated Mental Health in Adults? A 13-Year Repeat Cross-Sectional Study, UK

“…Two models were performed: a one-dimensional model, grouping all items into a general measure of neighbourhood perceptions; secondly, to identify the underlying constructs of the environment, we performed factor analysis based on participant responses to all 14 neighbourhood perceptions questions. This method is based on our previous work conceptualising neighbourhoods [ 3 , 31 ] and is a commonly applied method in conceptualising and constructing factors of the neighbourhood that may influence health and quality of life [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Three domains of neighbourhood perceptions emerged from the 14 items: crime and disorder (comprising: ‘vandalism’, ‘litter & rubbish’, ‘assaults or muggings’, ‘burglary’ and ‘discarded needles or syringes’); neighbourhood reputation (‘the people round here’, ‘reputation of neighbourhood’, ‘noise’ and ‘disturbance by children or youngsters’); and physical environmental problems (‘uneven or dangerous pavements’, ‘nuisance from dogs’, ‘speeding traffic’ and ‘smell’) (one item, public transport, did not cluster but is included in the overall neighbourhood perception variable).…”