Public Health

Associations Between Urban Greenspace and Depressive Symptoms in Mexico's Cities Using Different Greenspace Metrics

Bakhtsiyarava, M
Ju, Y
Moran, M
Rodriguez, Daniel
Dronova, I
Delclòs-Alió, X
Moore, K
Castillo-Riquelme, M
Anza-Ramirez, C
2024

Greenspace has been shown to be positively associated with mental wellbeing, but studies from the global South have been scarce. We advance the understanding of the relationship between greenspace and depressive symptoms by using multiple clearly defined metrics describing neighborhood greenness and urban parks in an understudied region with rapid urban growth.

Assessing Urban and Rural Neighborhood Characteristics Using Audit and GIS Data: Derivation and Reliability of Constructs

Evenson, KR
Sotres-Alvarez, D
Herring, AH
Messer, L
Laraia, BA
Rodriguez, Daniel
2009

Measures to assess neighborhood environments are needed to better understand the salient features that may enhance outdoor physical activities, such as walking and bicycling for transport or leisure. The purpose of this study was to derive constructs to describe neighborhoods using both primary (neighborhood audit) and secondary (geographic information systems) data. We collected detailed information on 10,770 road segments using an audit and secondary data. The road segment sample was randomly split into an exploratory (60%) and validation sample (40%) for...

Associations Between Neighborhood Built Environment and Cognition Vary by Apolipoprotein E genotype: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Besser, L
Galvin, JE
Rodriguez, Daniel
Seeman, T
Kukull, W
Rapp, S
Smith, J
2019

We examined whether neighborhood built environment (BE) and cognition associations in older adults vary by apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 4091 participants. Neighborhood characteristics included social and walking destination density (SDD, WDD), intersection density, and proportion of land dedicated to retail. Individuals were categorized as APOE ε2 (lower AD risk), APOE ε4 (higher AD risk), or APOE ε3 carriers. Among APOE ε2 carriers, greater proportion of land dedicated to retail was...

Assessing Area Under the Curve as an Alternative to Latent Growth Curve Modeling for Repeated Measures Zero-Inflated Poisson Data: A Simulation Study

Rodriguez, Daniel
2023
Researchers interested in the assessment of substance use trajectories, and predictors of change, have several data analysis options. These include, among others, generalized estimating equations and latent growth curve modeling. One difficulty in the assessment of substance use, however, is the nature of the variables studied. Although counting instances of use (e.g., the number of cigarettes smoked per day) would seem to be the best option, such data present difficulties in that the distribution of these variables is not likely normal. Count variables often follow a Poisson distribution,...

Are Buffers Around Home Representative of Physical Activity Spaces Among Adults?

Holliday, KM
Howard, AG
Emch, M
Rodriguez, Daniel
Evenson, KR
2017

Residential buffers are frequently used to assess built environment characteristics relevant to physical activity (PA), yet little is known about how well they represent the spatial areas in which individuals undertake PA. We used System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities data for 217 adults from five US states who wore an accelerometer and a GPS for three weeks to create newly defined PA-specific activity spaces. These PA spaces were based on PA occurring in bouts of ≥10min and were defined as 1) the single minimum convex polygon (MCP) containing all of a...

Abstract P298: An Obesogenic Neighborhood Environment Factor Score and Changes in BMI in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

Meyer, KA
Duffey, KJ
Rodriguez, Daniel
Lewis, CE
Kiefe, CI
2013
We sought to identify obesogenic elements of the neighborhood environment using 15 years of individual-level and GIS-derived data in the CARDIA cohort (n=5,115; aged 18-30 at year 0, 1985/86), and to test associations with 15-year BMI change. We first used reduced rank regression (RRR) to derive a weighted combination (factor score) of environmental variables that explained variability in obesity-promoting diet and physical activity (PA) behaviors. RRR outcome variables were diet quality, fast food consumption, and PA; predictors of these behaviors were neighborhood-level indicators of...

Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide in 47 187 Neighbourhoods Across 326 cities in Eight Latin American Countries: Population Exposures and Associations with Urban Features

Kephart, JL
Gouveia, N
Rodriguez, Daniel
Indvik, K
Alfaro, T
Texcalac-Sangrador, JL
Miranda, J
Usama, B
Roux, AV Diez
2023

Health research on ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is sparse in Latin America, despite the high prevalence of NO2-associated respiratory diseases in the region. This study describes within-city distributions of ambient NO2 concentrations at high spatial resolution and urban characteristics associated with neighbourhood ambient NO2 in 326 Latin American cities. We aggregated estimates of annual surface NO2 at 1 km2 spatial...

Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide Exposures in Latin American Cities

Kephart, JL
Gouveia, N
Rodríguez, Daniel
Alfaro, T
Texcalac-Sangrador, JL
Miranda, J
Bilal, U
Roux, AV Diez
2022
Background and Aim: Ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is a ubiquitous urban air pollutant emitted by fossil fuel combustion. Exposure to NO₂ is associated with respiratory disease and all-cause mortality. Health research on ambient NO₂ is sparse in Latin America, despite high urbanization and the high prevalence of NO₂-associated respiratory diseases in the region. This study aims to describe highly-granular population exposures to ambient NO₂ and urban characteristics associated with NO₂ exposure within 326 Latin American cities. Methods: We leveraged estimates of annual surface NO₂ at 1km²...

Ambient PM2. 5 in Latin American Cities: Population Exposure, Trends, Associated Urban Factors, and Effects on Mortality

Gouveia, N
Hernández, A
Rodriguez, Daniel
Texcalac, J
Ballester, L
McClure, L
Morales, R
Wang, X
2019

Latin America is one of the most urbanized areas of the world with nearly 80% of the population living in cities. Despite its benefits, this concentration of population in cities also increases exposures to pollutants related to urban activity. We examined levels and trends of PM2.5; patterns of population exposure by age, gender and socioeconomic status; disparities in exposure; and association of PM2.5 concentration with city characteristics and effects on mortality. Methods: Ground level annual PM2.5 from satellite-based observations was available in 2015 for 371 cities with greater...

Ambient Fine Particulate Matter in Latin American Cities: Levels, Population Exposure, and Associated Urban Factors

Gouveia, N
Kephart, J
Dronova, I
McClure, L
Granados, J
Rodriguez, Daniel
Bentancourt, R
O'Ryan, A
Texalac-Sangrador, J
Martinez-Folgar, K
Roux, AV Diez
2021
Exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Yet few studies have examined patterns of population exposure and...