The Relationship between Perceptions of Neighborhood Characteristics and Obesity among Children

There is substantial evidence of an ecological association between off-premise alcohol outlets and violence. We know less, however, about how specific beverage types that are sold in the outlets might explain the difference in violence rates across different alcohol outlets. Data on alcohol beverage types were collected for all off-premise alcohol outlets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, using a systematic social observation instrument. Spatially lagged regression models were estimated to determine whether the variation in alcohol beverage types is related to robbery density net of important neighborhood predictors of crime rates. Availability of all alcohol beverage types (beer, wine, spirits, premixed, single beer, single spirits, single premixed) was positively associated with the density of robberies, net of neighborhood characteristics. Reducing alcohol beverages, regardless of the beverage type, sold at off-premise alcohol outlets may reduce violence in communities.

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Uncovering the relationship between food-related discussion on Twitter and neighborhood characteristics

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association ◽

10.1093/jamia/ocz181 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 254-264 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

V G Vinod Vydiswaran ◽

Daniel M Romero ◽

Xinyan Zhao ◽

Deahan Yu ◽

Iris Gomez-Lopez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saturated Fat ◽

Local Health ◽

Neighborhood Characteristics ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Dietary Choices ◽

The Relationship ◽

Source Of Information ◽

Neighborhood Level ◽

Level Analysis ◽

Collection Methods

Abstract Objective Initiatives to reduce neighborhood-based health disparities require access to meaningful, timely, and local information regarding health behavior and its determinants. We examined the validity of Twitter as a source of information for neighborhood-level analysis of dietary choices and attitudes. Materials and Methods We analyzed the “healthiness” quotient and sentiment in food-related tweets at the census tract level, and associated them with neighborhood characteristics and health outcomes. We analyzed keywords driving the differences in food healthiness between the most and least-affluent tracts, and qualitatively analyzed contents of a random sample of tweets. Results Significant, albeit weak, correlations existed between healthiness and sentiment in food-related tweets and tract-level measures of affluence, disadvantage, race, age, U.S. density, and mortality from conditions associated with obesity. Analyses of keywords driving the differences in food healthiness revealed foods high in saturated fat (eg, pizza, bacon, fries) were mentioned more frequently in less-affluent tracts. Food-related discussion referred to activities (eating, drinking, cooking), locations where food was consumed, and positive (affection, cravings, enjoyment) and negative attitudes (dislike, personal struggles, complaints). Discussion Tweet-based healthiness scores largely correlated with offline phenomena in the expected directions. Social media offer less resource-intensive data collection methods than traditional surveys do. Twitter may assist in informing local health programs that focus on drivers of food consumption and could inform interventions focused on attitudes and the food environment. Conclusions Twitter provided weak but significant signals concerning food-related behavior and attitudes at the neighborhood level, suggesting its potential usefulness for informing local health disparity reduction efforts.

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Exploring Spatial Patterns of Property Crime Risks in Changchun, China

International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research ◽

10.4018/jagr.2013070105 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 80-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Wei Song ◽

Daqian Liu

Keyword(s):

Spatial Patterns ◽

Hot Spots ◽

Property Crime ◽

Ordinary Least Squares ◽

Neighborhood Characteristics ◽

Risk Areas ◽

Gwr Model ◽

The Relationship ◽

The City ◽

Crime Risks

Urban crime has increasingly become a major issue for Chinese cities. Using crime data collected at police precincts in 2008, the main aim of this research is to examine the spatial distribution of property crime which accounted for almost 82% of all crimes in the city of Changchun, and analyze the relationship between the spatial patterns of property crime and neighborhood characteristics. Standardized property crime rates (SCR) were applied to assess the relative risk of property crime across the city. Statistically significant clusters of high-risk areas or hot-spots were detected. A global ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model and a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model were calibrated to explore the risk of property crime as a function of contextual neighborhood characteristics. The analytical results show that significant local variations exist in the relationship between the risk of property crime and several neighborhood socioeconomic variables.

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The Influence of Neighborhood Characteristics on the Relationship Between Discrimination and Increased Drug-Using Social Ties Among Illicit Drug Users

Journal of Community Health ◽

10.1007/s10900-012-9618-0 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 328-337 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Natalie D. Crawford ◽

Luisa N. Borrell ◽

Sandro Galea ◽

Chandra Ford ◽

Carl Latkin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Users ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Social Ties ◽

Neighborhood Characteristics ◽

Illicit Drug Users ◽

The Relationship

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Is the relationship between parental abuse and mobile phone dependency (MPD) contingent across neighborhood characteristics? A multilevel analysis of Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0196824 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. e0196824 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Harris Hyun-soo Kim ◽

JongSerl Chun

Keyword(s):

Mobile Phone ◽

Multilevel Analysis ◽

Children And Youth ◽

Neighborhood Characteristics ◽

Panel Survey ◽

Korean Children ◽

Parental Abuse ◽

The Relationship

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Childhood maltreatment and lead levels in middle adulthood: A prospective examination of the roles of individual socio-economic and neighborhood characteristics

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0240683 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (11) ◽

pp. e0240683

Author(s):

Anthony Carpi ◽

Valentina Nikulina ◽

Xuechen Li ◽

Cathy Spatz Widom

Keyword(s):

Childhood Maltreatment ◽

Public Assistance ◽

Lead Level ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Physical Disorder ◽

Neighborhood Characteristics ◽

Household Dust ◽

Individual Level ◽

Lead Levels ◽

The Relationship

Background Lead is a common environmental hazard because of its past use as an additive to gasoline and household paint. Some evidence suggests that children with histories of child abuse and neglect are at elevated risk for residence in communities and households with less desirable characteristics and high levels of exposure to environmental hazards and toxins. Objectives To understand whether childhood maltreatment leads to higher levels of household dust lead and blood lead in adulthood and the extent to which characteristics of a person’s physical environment or individual level socio-economic status (SES) (based on unemployment, poverty, and receipt of public assistance) contribute to understanding the relationship. Methods A large prospective cohort design study in which abused and neglected children (ages 0–11) were matched with non-maltreated children and assessed in adulthood. Objective and subjective neighborhood characteristics were assessed at approximate age 40 and household dust lead (cleaned and less often cleaned) and blood lead levels were measured at age 41. Blood was collected through venipuncture by a registered nurse as part of a medical status exam. Results Childhood maltreatment predicted higher levels of dust lead in less often cleaned household places, residence in worse neighborhoods defined by objective (census tract data) and subjective (reports of physical disorder and lack of social cohesion and control), and higher levels of poverty, receiving public assistance, and unemployment. Only objective neighborhood characteristics mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and dust lead level in adulthood. There were also significant paths from objective neighborhood disadvantage and individual level SES to higher levels of blood lead. Discussion Thirty years after their childhood experiences, individuals with documented histories of childhood maltreatment are at higher risk for living in environments as adults with elevated lead levels that may impact other aspects of their lives and compromise their health.

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