Old, small and unwanted: Post-war housing and neighbourhood socioeconomic status

Post-war neighbourhoods across the USA have declined in socioeconomic status over the past few decades. Over this same time period, the relative status of many of these neighbourhoods has dipped below that of older neighbourhoods. With the characteristics of post-war housing being arguably undesirable by current standards, extant literature claims the functional obsolescence of post-war housing is contributing to low and declining neighbourhood socioeconomic status. What remains unclear is whether the effect observed is due to housing age – post-war housing is vulnerable to physical depreciation given its age – or if there is a true post-war vintage effect influencing neighbourhood socioeconomic status beyond what age alone would predict. Using a panel model spanning 1990 to 2010, three main findings emerge. First, the presence of greater shares of post-war housing in neighbourhoods is associated with a small but significant decrease in neighbourhood status. Second, this effect varies across and within urban and suburban neighbourhoods. Third, there exists substantial heterogeneity in the effect across metropolitan areas that differ by housing supply growth and price. Together, these results imply that policymakers should consider the negative effects of functional obsolescence on top of the ills associated with ageing homes within certain spatial contexts.

Neighbourhood socioeconomic status modifies the association between anxiety and depression during pregnancy and preterm birth: a Community-based Canadian cohort study

ObjectiveThis study examined the association of anxiety alone, depression alone and the presence of both anxiety and depression with preterm birth (PTB) and further examined whether neighbourhood socioeconomic status (SES) modified this association.DesignCohort study using individual-level data from two community-based prospective pregnancy cohort studies (All Our Families; AOF) and Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) and neighbourhood SES data from the 2011 Canadian census.SettingCalgary, Alberta, Canada.ParticipantsOverall, 5538 pregnant women who were <27 weeks of gestation and >15 years old were enrolled in the cohort studies between 2008 and 2012. 3341 women participated in the AOF study and 2187 women participated in the APrON study, with 231 women participated in both studies. Women who participated in both studies were only counted once.Primary and secondary outcome measuresPTB was defined as delivery prior to 37 weeks of gestation. Depression was defined as an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score of ≥13, anxiety was defined as an EPDS-anxiety subscale score of ≥6, and the presence of both anxiety and depression was defined as meeting both anxiety and depression definitions.ResultsOverall, 7.3% of women delivered preterm infants. The presence of both anxiety and depression, but neither of these conditions alone, was significantly associated with PTB (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.3) and had significant interaction with neighbourhood deprivation (p=0.004). The predicted probability of PTB for women with both anxiety and depression was 10.0%, which increased to 15.7% if they lived in the most deprived neighbourhoods and decreased to 1.4% if they lived in the least deprived neighbourhoods.ConclusionsEffects of anxiety and depression on risk of PTB differ depending on where women live. This understanding may guide the identification of women at increased risk for PTB and allocation of resources for early identification and management of anxiety and depression.

Neighbourhood socioeconomic status and overweight/obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological studies

ObjectiveLow neighbourhood socioeconomic status (NSES) has been linked to a higher risk of overweight/obesity, irrespective of the individual’s own socioeconomic status. No meta-analysis study has been done on the association. Thus, this study was done to synthesise the existing evidence on the association of NSES with overweight, obesity and body mass index (BMI).DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data sourcesPubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Sciences and Google Scholar databases were searched for articles published until 25 September 2019.Eligibility criteriaEpidemiological studies, both longitudinal and cross-sectional ones, which examined the link of NSES to overweight, obesity or BMI, were included.Data extraction and synthesisData extraction was done by two reviewers, working independently. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for the observational studies. The summary estimates of the relationships of NSES with overweight, obesity and BMI statuses were calculated with random-effects meta-analysis models. Heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran’s Q and I2 statistics. Subgroup analyses were done by age categories, continents, study designs and NSES measures. Publication bias was assessed by visual inspection of funnel plots and Egger’s regression test.ResultA total of 21 observational studies, covering 1 244 438 individuals, were included in this meta-analysis. Low NSES, compared with high NSES, was found to be associated with a 31% higher odds of overweight (pooled OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.47, p<0.001), a 45% higher odds of obesity (pooled OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.74, p<0.001) and a 1.09 kg/m2 increase in mean BMI (pooled beta=1.09, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.50, p<0.001).ConclusionNSES disparity might be contributing to the burden of overweight/obesity. Further studies are warranted, including whether addressing NSES disparity could reduce the risk of overweight/obesity.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017063889