Context Matters: Adolescent Neighborhood and School Influences on Young Adult Body Mass Index

Connected communities: Perceived neighborhood social cohesion during adolescence and subsequent health and well-being in young adulthood-An outcome-wide longitudinal approach

Does higher perceived neighborhood social cohesion in adolescence lead to better health and well-being 10-12 years later? We evaluated this question using data from a large, prospective, and nationally representative sample of US adolescents (Add Health; N = 10,963), and an outcome-wide approach. Across 38 outcomes, perceived neighborhood social cohesion was associated with some: mental health outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, perceived stress), psychological well-being outcomes (i.e., happiness, optimism), social outcomes (i.e., loneliness, romantic relationship quality, satisfaction with parenting), and civic/prosocial outcomes (i.e., volunteering). However, it was not associated with health behaviors nor physical health outcomes. These results were maintained after robust control for a wide range of potential confounders.

Time trends in associations between neighbourhood and school characteristics and mental health problems among Dutch adolescents

We investigated trends in associations between physical and social neighbourhood and school characteristics and adolescent mental health problems between 2005 and 2017. Nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional data collected in the Netherlands among primary (N = 5,871) and secondary school students (N = 20,778) were analysed through cross-classified multilevel models. Hardly any evidence was found for over-time changes in associations between neighbourhood and school characteristics and adolescent mental health problems. Findings showed that for both groups of students, only social characteristics within the two contexts were associated with adolescent mental health problems. For secondary school students, school effects were larger than neighbourhood effects, while the opposite was true for primary school students. Specifically, primary school students residing in more socially fragmented or lower socioeconomic status (SES) neighbourhoods, and lower SES schools, reported more conduct problems and peer relationship problems. For secondary school students, only the SES of the neighbourhood and the school was associated with all four aspects of mental health problems. Remarkably, the direction of the associations between neighbourhood/ school SES and adolescent mental health problems varied across the different mental health outcomes. More research is warranted to replicate our findings.

Pubertal timing, neighborhood income, and mental health in boys and girls: Findings from the adolescent brain cognitive development study

Early pubertal timing is associated with youth mental health problems, with association amplified or mitigated by characteristics of the residential neighborhood. Yet, limited research simultaneously examines the roles of neighborhood context and biological sex in this association. This study fills this research gap by examining sex-specific associations between pubertal timing and neighborhood income with youth mental health problems (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) in a longitudinal cohort of early adolescents in the United States (US). Participants were 9201 youth aged 9 or 10 years from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Pubertal timing was the average of parent- and youth-reported pubertal status standardized within sex and age. Outcome variables were youths' internalizing and externalizing symptoms assessed at 1-year follow-up via parent survey. We evaluated interaction effects between pubertal timing and neighborhood income in a series of sex-stratified linear mixed effect models, adjusted for family and personal sociodemographic characteristics. In girls, earlier pubertal timing was associated with more internalizing (β = 0.06, p < 0.001) and externalizing problems (β = 0.07, p < 0.001) at 1-year follow-up, not moderated by neighborhood income. In boys, earlier pubertal timing was associated with more externalizing problems among youth living in high-income neighborhoods, but not among those in low-income neighborhoods (interaction-p = 0.006). Results suggest that pubertal timing may affect youth mental health differentially in boys and girls, depending on the neighborhood contexts. These findings highlight the importance of both biological and social forces in shaping adolescent mental health and, thus, have public health and clinical implications for health promotion.

Risks of obesity and diabetes development in the population of the Ivano-Frankivsk region in Ukraine

The epidemic of obesity that parallels diabetes mellitus and its complications are diseases of major concern to modern societies. Community-based screening is an effective strategy to identify people at high risk of developing overweight, obesity, prediabetes, diabetes, and related health problems. Here, we present the results of screening the population of four locations in the Ivano-Frankivsk region (Western Ukraine). The study group consisted of 400 adults and 252 children. The measured parameters were: (1) main vital signs - body temperature, resting heart rate, blood pressure; (2) anthropometric indicators - body mass and height, body mass index, waist circumference; and (3) metabolic parameters - fasting capillary blood glucose, total body fat, visceral fat, physical activity level and 10-year risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study found that 23 % of the adults were overweight and 14.8 % obese. Among children, 9.9 % were overweight and 8.7 % obese. Adult body mass index correlated with visceral fat percentage, systolic/diastolic blood pressure and levels of fasting capillary blood glucose. Adults over 18 years of age had fasting capillary blood glucose ≥5.6 mmol/L (14.3 %), including those with undiagnosed pre-diabetes (13.3 %) and suspected diabetes mellitus (1.0 %). The percentage of visceral body fat in adults was positively associated with the 10-year risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Adolescent individual, school, and neighborhood influences on young adult diabetes risk

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), this study examines the association between adolescent school and neighborhood contexts and the likelihood of diabetes in young adulthood. We apply cross-classified multi-level modeling (CCMM) techniques to examine the simultaneous influence of non-nested school and neighborhood contexts as well as individual, school, and neighborhood-level factors (N = 14,041 participants from 128 schools, 1933 neighborhoods). Our findings suggest that individual-level factors are most associated with young adult diabetes, with small contributions from school and neighborhood factors and a small proportion of the variation explained by school and neighborhood contexts.

Childhood neighborhoods and health: Census-based neighborhood measures versus residential lived experiences

This study examines the impact of neighborhood disadvantage and neighborhood social connectedness during childhood on subsequent health status during early adulthood. We link longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics with Census data on children's surrounding neighborhoods. We estimate results with conventional linear regression and novel methods that better adjust for neighborhood selection processes. We find that neighborhood connectedness in childhood is protective against psychological distress in early adulthood, net of selection effects. However, greater connectedness exacerbates the risk of obesity within disadvantaged contexts for Black youth. Our results highlight a potential pathway for improving population health by investing in the social connectedness of neighborhoods alongside reducing structural inequalities.

Adolescent individual, school, and neighborhood influences on young adult hypertension risk

BACKGROUND

Geographic and contextual socioeconomic risk factors in adolescence may be more strongly associated with young adult hypertension than individual-level risk factors. This study examines the association between individual, neighborhood, and school-level influences during adolescence on young adult blood pressure.

METHODS

Data were analyzed from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (1994-1995 aged 11-18 and 2007-2008 aged 24-32). We categorized hypertension as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg. Secondary outcomes included continuous systolic and diastolic blood pressure. We fit a series of cross-classified multilevel models to estimate the associations between young adulthood hypertension with individual-level, school-level, and neighborhood-level factors during adolescence (i.e., fixed effects) and variance attributable to each level (i.e., random effects). Models were fit using Bayesian estimation procedures. For linear models, intra-class correlations (ICC) are reported for random effects.

RESULTS

The final sample included 13,911 participants in 128 schools and 1,917 neighborhoods. Approximately 51% (7,111) young adults were hypertensive. Individual-level characteristics-particularly older ages, Non-Hispanic Black race, Asian race, male sex, BMI, and current smoking-were associated with increased hypertension. Non-Hispanic Black (OR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.03-1.42) and Asian (OR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.02-1.62) students had higher odds of hypertension compared to non-Hispanic White students. At the school level, hypertension was associated with the percentage of non-Hispanic White students (OR for 10% higher = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.01-1.09). Adjusting for individual, school, and neighborhood predictors attenuated the ICC for both the school (from 1.4 null to 0.9 fully-adjusted) and neighborhood (from 0.4 to 0.3).

CONCLUSION

We find that adolescents' schools and individual-level factors influence young adult hypertension, more than neighborhoods. Unequal conditions in school environments for adolescents may increase the risk of hypertension later in life. Our findings merit further research to better understand the mechanisms through which adolescents' school environments contribute to adult hypertension and disparities in hypertension outcomes later in life.

Validity of the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire and Its Relationship with Parent-Reported Eating Behaviors among Adolescents in Portugal

The Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ) is a tool developed in the UK, used in the investigation of appetitive traits in adults and adolescents, and later validated in a number of countries. To date, the validity of the AEBQ has not been tested on Portuguese-speaking popula-tions. The aim of this study was to validate the AEBQ in a sample of Portuguese adolescents. Participants were 4483 13-year-olds enrolled in the population-based cohort study Generation XXI. Appetitive traits were self-reported by adolescents through the AEBQ and parents also reported adolescent eating behaviors. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were conducted. Construct validity was tested through correlations between AEBQ subscales and parent-reported eating behaviors, and linear regressions between AEBQ subscales and adolescent body mass index z-scores were performed. Adequate internal consistency and several associations with parent-reported eating behaviors and measured adolescent body mass index z-scores were found. This study supports the validity of a five-factor AEBQ (Food Responsiveness and Enjoyment of Food; Slowness in Eating; Food Fussiness; Emotional Over- and Undereating) to measure appetitive traits among Portuguese adolescents and provides a convenient and easy-to-use tool to be used in large-scale research.

Neighborhood Profiles and Body Mass Index Trajectory in Female Adolescents and Young Adults

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to identify distinct neighborhood profiles patterned by key structural, physical, and social characteristics and test whether living in different profiles are associated with body mass index trajectories during adolescence in racial/ethnic minority female youth.

METHODS

Participants were 1,328 sexually active female adolescents and young adults aged 14-23 years, predominately Hispanic and black, enrolled in an human papillomavirus type 4 vaccine (Gardasil) surveillance study at a large adolescent health clinic in New York City between 2007 and 2018. Body mass index was calculated from weight and height every 6 months. A comprehensive set of neighborhood structural, social, and physical characteristics from multiple national and state datasets was linked to each participant based on home address.

RESULTS

Latent profile analysis revealed five distinct neighborhood profiles in New York City: High Structural/High Social Advantage, Moderate Advantage/Low Crime, Low SES (Socioeconomic Status)/High Activity, Low SES/High Social Advantage, and High Disadvantage. Results from multilevel growth curve analysis revealed that living in Low SES/High Activity neighborhoods was associated with a lower BMI at age 22 (b = -1.32, 95% confidence interval -2.49, -.16), as well as a slower increase in BMI from age 14 to 22 years (b = -.22, 95% confidence interval -.46, .02), compared to the High Disadvantage profile.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that improving neighborhood structural, social, and physical environments may help promote healthy weight and reduce health disparities during adolescence and young adulthood.

The built and social neighborhood environment and child obesity: A systematic review of longitudinal studies

The built and social neighborhood environment where a child lives has been increasingly studied as an exposure that may affect child weight long term. We conducted a systematic review of primary research articles published in 2011 through 2019 that reported results from longitudinal analyses of associations between neighborhood environment characteristics and child obesity or weight. Neighborhood environment measures included proximity to food stores, parks, and recreational facilities, walkability, crime, perceived safety, and social cohesion. Information on study population, exposure and outcome measures, and main results were extracted from 39 studies and results were presented for full cohorts and stratified by sex. Most studies were prospective cohorts (90%) with a median follow-up time of six years. Studies analyzing changes in the neighborhood versus changes in weight were less common than approaches analyzing baseline measures of the neighborhood environment in relation to obesity incidence or weight trajectories. Associations varied by sex, race/ethnicity, and age group. Within the food environment domain, the strongest evidence of adverse impact was for fast food restaurants but the effect was only apparent among girls. Results suggested green space, parks, and recreational facilities may have a beneficial effect on weight. Increased crime and low perceived safety may be risk factors for increased weight although not all studies were consistent. Standardization of measures across studies, investigation of multiple social and physical environment measures simultaneously, effect modification by demographic characteristics, and change in the environment vs change in weight analyses are needed to strengthen conclusions.

Overweight and obesity by school socioeconomic composition and adolescent socioeconomic status: a school-based study

BACKGROUND

The main objective of this study was to investigate the interaction effect of school socioeconomic composition (SEC) and adolescent socioeconomic status (SES) in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among a representative sample of French adolescents of the third most populous département of France.

METHODS

1038 adolescents agreed to participate (response rate: 91.4%). They self-reported anthropomorphic variables, SES, school lunch and physical activity. The body mass index was divided into six categories according to the Center for Disease Control. Multivariable binary logistic regressions analysis without and with interaction term were performed on overweight or obesity. Models fit was compared using the Aikaike Information Criterion. Odds-ratios (OR) and their 95% accelerated-bootstrap confidence interval (95%BCa CI) were computed to estimate overweight or obesity risk.

RESULTS

8.9% of the adolescents were overweight. 3.4% were obese. No school-SEC effect was observed among low-SES adolescents. Medium-SES adolescents were at greater risk in low-SEC (OR = 10.75, 95%BCa CI = 2.67-64.57) and medium-SEC (OR = 5.08, 95%BCa CI = 1.55-24.84) compared with high-SEC schools. High-SES adolescents in low-SEC schools were at greater risk compared with those in medium-SEC (OR = 5.94, 95%BCa CI = 1.94-17.29) and high-SEC schools (OR = 4.99, 95%BCa CI = 1.71-13.14). A social gradient was observed in medium-SEC (OR_low/high = 2.79, 95%BCa CI = 1.22-7.41) and high-SEC (OR_low/medium = 6.86, 95%BCa CI = 1.06-5.22*10⁶) schools.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical activity and lunch at and outside school help to understand these differences. Implications for obesity prevention initiatives are discussed.

Cigarette use, anxiety, and insomnia from adolescence to early adulthood: A longitudinal indirect effects test

BACKGROUND

Cigarette use during adolescence has been linked to increased risk for insomnia symptoms, but limited work has examined factors that may account for this association. Adolescent cigarette use and anxiety symptoms characterized by physiological hyperarousal evidence bidirectional associations, as do anxiety symptoms and insomnia symptoms. This suggests that adolescent cigarette use, anxiety symptoms characterized by physiological hyperarousal, and insomnia symptoms may increase and maintain one another. The current study tests physiological hyperarousal anxiety symptoms as a potential indirect effect in the cigarette-insomnia symptoms link across adolescence and young adulthood.

METHODS

We examined data from adolescents and young adults from Waves 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 2,432 with full data). Insomnia symptoms were assessed at baseline (ages 12-16 years), 1 year later (13-17 years), and 14 years after baseline (26 - 30 years) among a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Cigarette use was assessed at baseline, 1 year later, 6 years after baseline, and 14 years after baseline. Anxiety symptoms were assessed at baseline and 1 year later.

RESULTS

Structural equation models indicated that anxiety symptoms exerted an indirect effect on the longitudinal associations between adolescent cigarette use and adult insomnia symptoms. Anxiety symptoms and cigarette use evidenced bidirectional associations during adolescence.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that increases in anxiety symptoms characterized by physiological hyperarousal may be one mechanism whereby cigarette use during adolescence is associated with increased insomnia symptoms during early adulthood. Prevention efforts aimed at reducing cigarette use during adolescence may have long term additional benefits for anxiety symptoms and insomnia symptoms.

High School Composition and Health Outcomes in Adulthood: A Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

A multitude of empirical evidence documents links between education and health, but this focuses primarily on educational attainment and not on characteristics of the school setting. Little is known about the extent to which aggregate characteristics of the school setting, such as student body demographics, are associated with adult health outcomes.

METHODS

We use the U.S. nationally representative National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort to statistically assess the association between two different measures of high school student composition (socioeconomic composition, racial/ethnic composition) and two different health outcomes at age 40 (self-rated health and obesity).

RESULTS

After adjusting for confounders, high school socioeconomic composition, but not racial/ethnic composition, was weakly associated with both obesity and worse self-rated health at age 40. However, after adding adult educational attainment to the model, only the association between high school socioeconomic composition and obesity remained statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Future research should explore possible mechanisms and also if findings are similar across other populations and in other school contexts. These results suggest that education policies that seek to break the link between socioeconomic composition and negative outcomes remain important but may have few spillover effects onto health.

Like Parent, Like Child: Intergenerational Patterns of Cardiovascular Risk Factors at Midlife

PURPOSE

We aimed to assess the prevalence of four cardiovascular risk factors (obesity, diabetes, excessive alcohol intake, and cigarette smoking) for parents and their adult children at the same approximate midlife age. We also evaluated associations of parents' cardiovascular risk factors, childhood health exposures, and social contexts (i.e., family, school, and neighborhood) during adolescence with adult children's cardiovascular health at midlife.

METHODS

We used data from respondents at Wave V of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health who had corresponding parent (mostly mothers) data from Wave I. The final sample included 10,466 adult children with a mean age of 37.8 years. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were estimated, accounting for the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health sampling design.

RESULTS

At similar ages (i.e., 35-45 years) to their parents, adult children had higher rates of excessive drinking and obesity than their parents, lower rates of diabetes, and similar rates of smoking. Adult children's health largely converged and correlated with their parents' health at similar ages. Cardiovascular risks for adult children were also significantly associated with their childhood health exposures and social contexts during adolescence. Some associations varied with respect to the health status of parents at Wave I.

CONCLUSIONS

The cardiovascular risk of parents at midlife is strongly associated with the cardiovascular risk of their adult children at midlife. The status of parents' health during adolescence can also modify the significance and magnitude of associations between childhood health exposures or adolescent social contexts and adult children's cardiovascular risk factors.

Disentangling individual, school, and neighborhood effects on screen time among adolescents and young adults in the United States

OBJECTIVES

To examine the association between individual, neighborhood, and school-level influences on individual screen time among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

METHODS

We classified screen time continuously as self-reported total hours per week of television, videos, and video/computer games at baseline and categorical as extended screen time (≥14 h per week). We fit cross-classified multilevel models (CCMM) to examine to examine the individual-, school- and neighborhood-level demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with screen time. Models were fit using MLwiN with Bayesian estimation procedures.

RESULTS

AYAs reported an average of 22.8 (SD = 19.4) and 21.9 (SD = 20.3) hours of screen time, respectively. At the individual level, younger age, male sex, Black/multiracial race, receipt of public assistance, and lower parental education were associated with higher screen time. At the school level, being out of session (i.e., school and national holidays including summer), having a higher proportion of non-White students, and having a lower proportion of parents with a college education were associated with higher individual screen time.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that individual-level factors most influence youth screen time, with smaller contributions from school factors.

Small-area socioeconomic status and children's oral health in a safety-net care delivery setting

OBJECTIVES

To better understand the impact of small-area socioeconomic status (SES) on caries experience and sealant presence among children receiving services through a comprehensive community-based safety-net oral health program.

METHODS

Census-tract level household data from the American Community Survey was utilized to construct an index that reflects the small-area socioeconomic environments in which children receive oral health services. This area SES index was entered into a logistic model with sociodemographic participant data collected by the community-based oral health program to consider its association with outcomes (caries and sealant experience) at first program visit, among children older and younger than 5 years.

RESULTS

Among poor children older than 5 years of age, higher census-tract level SES was associated with lesser caries experience and greater sealant experience at presentation for care to a community-based oral health program. Each standard deviation increase in census-tract level SES index was associated with reduced odds of any caries experience (aOR = 0.92; 95 percent CI 0.85, 0.99; P = 0.021) and increased odds of sealants (aOR = 1.20; 95 percent CI 1.05, 1.37; P = 0.009). Among children 5 years and under, only grade was associated with both outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Within an inner city area of poverty, the greater a census tract's socioeconomic risks to health, the greater the odds that children over age five experience caries and the lesser their odds of having dental sealants. While associations between SES and oral health outcomes across the full spectrum of SES have been recognized, this study suggests that within lower SES areas, SES-associated gradients exist in children's oral health.