Cancer and cardiovascular-related perceived risk in a diverse cancer center catchment area

Residential urban food environment profiles and diet outcomes among adults in Brooklyn, New York: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the clustering properties of residential urban food environment indicators across neighbourhoods and to determine if clustering profiles are associated with diet outcomes among adults in Brooklyn, New York.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

Five neighbourhoods in Brooklyn, New York.

PARTICIPANTS

Survey data (n 1493) were collected among adults in Brooklyn, New York between April 2019 and September 2019. Data for food environment indicators (fast-food restaurants, bodegas, supermarkets, farmer's markets, community kitchens, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program application centres, food pantries) were drawn from New York databases. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify individuals' food access-related profiles, based on food environments measured by the availability of each outlet within each participant's 800-m buffer. Profile memberships were associated with dietary outcomes using mixed linear regression.

RESULTS

LPA identified four residential urban food environment profiles (with significant high clusters ranging from 17 to 57 across profiles): limited/low food access, (n 587), bodega-dense (n 140), food swamp (n 254) and high food access (n 512) profiles. Diet outcomes were not statistically different across identified profiles. Only participants in the limited/low food access profile were more likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) than those in the bodega-dense profile (b = 0·44, P < 0·05) in adjusted models.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals in limited and low food access neighbourhoods are vulnerable to consuming significant amounts of SSB compared with those in bodega-dense communities. Further research is warranted to elucidate strategies to improve fruit and vegetable consumption while reducing SSB intake within residential urban food environments.

Fatalistic cancer beliefs and self-reported cancer screening behaviors among diverse urban residents

Cancer fatalism-the belief that death is inevitable when cancer is present-has been identified as a barrier to cancer screening, detection, and treatment. Our study examined the relationship between self-reported cancer fatalism and adherence to cancer screening guidelines of the breasts, cervix, colon, and prostate among a diverse sample of urban-dwelling adults in Brooklyn, New York. Between May 2019 and August 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of adults 40 + years of age (n = 2,341) residing in Brooklyn neighborhoods with high cancer mortality. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the odds of reporting cancer screening completion across three fatalistic cancer belief categories (low, med, high). Participants' median age was 61 (IQR 51, 71) years, 61% were women, 49% self-identified as non-Hispanic black, 11% Hispanic, 4% Asian, and 6% more than one race. There were no statistically significant differences in the proportion of low, some, or high fatalistic beliefs identified among male respondents compared to women. Among women, we observed that high fatalistic cancer beliefs were associated with higher odds (OR 2.01; 95% CI 1.10-3.65) of completing breast but not cervical (1.04; CI 0.55-1.99) or colon (1.54; CI 0.88-2.69) cancer screening. Men with high fatalistic cancer beliefs had a trend towards lower odds of prostate screening (OR 0.53: 95% CI 0.18-1.57) compared to men with low fatalistic beliefs, but neither was statistically significant. Findings suggest that high fatalistic cancer beliefs may be an important factor in cancer screening utilization among women. Further examination in longitudinal cohorts with a larger sample of men may be needed in order to identify any significant effect.