Abstract
Background: Variations in 'slope' (how steep or flat the ground is) may be good for health. As walking up hills is a physiologically vigorous physical activity and can contribute to weight control, greater neighbourhood slopes may provide a protective barrier to weight gain, and help prevent Type 2 diabetes onset. We explored whether living in 'hilly' neighbourhoods was associated with diabetes prevalence among the Australian adult population. Methods: Participants (≥25 years; n = 11,406) who completed the Western Australian Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System Survey (2003-2009) were asked whether or not they had medically-diagnosed diabetes. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software was used to calculate a neighbourhood mean slope score, and other built environment measures at 1600 m around each participant's home. Logistic regression models were used to predict the odds of self-reported diabetes after progressive adjustment for individual measures (i.e., age, sex), socioeconomic status (i.e., education, income), built environment, destinations, nutrition, and amount of walking. Results: After full adjustment, the odds of self-reported diabetes was 0.72 (95% CI 0.55-0.95) and 0.52 (95% CI 0.39-0.69) for adults living in neighbourhoods with moderate and higher levels of slope, respectively, compared with adults living in neighbourhoods with the lowest levels of slope. The odds of having diabetes was 13% lower (odds ratio 0.87; 95% CI 0.80-0.94) for each increase of one percent in mean slope. Conclusions: Living in a hilly neighbourhood may be protective of diabetes onset or this finding is spurious. Nevertheless, the results are promising and have implications for future research and the practice of flattening land in new housing developments.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 59 |
| Journal | International Journal of Health Geographics |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 Jan 1 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Adults
- Built environment
- Diabetes
- Hilly
- Neighbourhood
- Slope
- Terrain
- Walking
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Computer Science(all)
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Cite this
People living in hilly residential areas in metropolitan Perth have less diabetes : Spurious association or important environmental determinant? / Villanueva, Karen; Knuiman, Matthew; Koohsari, MohammadJavad; Hickey, Sharyn; Foster, Sarah; Badland, Hannah; Nathan, Andrea; Bull, Fiona; Giles-Corti, Billie.
In: International Journal of Health Geographics, Vol. 12, No. 1, 59, 01.01.2013.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - People living in hilly residential areas in metropolitan Perth have less diabetes
T2 - Spurious association or important environmental determinant?
AU - Villanueva, Karen
AU - Knuiman, Matthew
AU - Koohsari, MohammadJavad
AU - Hickey, Sharyn
AU - Foster, Sarah
AU - Badland, Hannah
AU - Nathan, Andrea
AU - Bull, Fiona
AU - Giles-Corti, Billie
PY - 2013/1/1
Y1 - 2013/1/1
N2 - Background: Variations in 'slope' (how steep or flat the ground is) may be good for health. As walking up hills is a physiologically vigorous physical activity and can contribute to weight control, greater neighbourhood slopes may provide a protective barrier to weight gain, and help prevent Type 2 diabetes onset. We explored whether living in 'hilly' neighbourhoods was associated with diabetes prevalence among the Australian adult population. Methods: Participants (≥25 years; n = 11,406) who completed the Western Australian Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System Survey (2003-2009) were asked whether or not they had medically-diagnosed diabetes. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software was used to calculate a neighbourhood mean slope score, and other built environment measures at 1600 m around each participant's home. Logistic regression models were used to predict the odds of self-reported diabetes after progressive adjustment for individual measures (i.e., age, sex), socioeconomic status (i.e., education, income), built environment, destinations, nutrition, and amount of walking. Results: After full adjustment, the odds of self-reported diabetes was 0.72 (95% CI 0.55-0.95) and 0.52 (95% CI 0.39-0.69) for adults living in neighbourhoods with moderate and higher levels of slope, respectively, compared with adults living in neighbourhoods with the lowest levels of slope. The odds of having diabetes was 13% lower (odds ratio 0.87; 95% CI 0.80-0.94) for each increase of one percent in mean slope. Conclusions: Living in a hilly neighbourhood may be protective of diabetes onset or this finding is spurious. Nevertheless, the results are promising and have implications for future research and the practice of flattening land in new housing developments.
AB - Background: Variations in 'slope' (how steep or flat the ground is) may be good for health. As walking up hills is a physiologically vigorous physical activity and can contribute to weight control, greater neighbourhood slopes may provide a protective barrier to weight gain, and help prevent Type 2 diabetes onset. We explored whether living in 'hilly' neighbourhoods was associated with diabetes prevalence among the Australian adult population. Methods: Participants (≥25 years; n = 11,406) who completed the Western Australian Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System Survey (2003-2009) were asked whether or not they had medically-diagnosed diabetes. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software was used to calculate a neighbourhood mean slope score, and other built environment measures at 1600 m around each participant's home. Logistic regression models were used to predict the odds of self-reported diabetes after progressive adjustment for individual measures (i.e., age, sex), socioeconomic status (i.e., education, income), built environment, destinations, nutrition, and amount of walking. Results: After full adjustment, the odds of self-reported diabetes was 0.72 (95% CI 0.55-0.95) and 0.52 (95% CI 0.39-0.69) for adults living in neighbourhoods with moderate and higher levels of slope, respectively, compared with adults living in neighbourhoods with the lowest levels of slope. The odds of having diabetes was 13% lower (odds ratio 0.87; 95% CI 0.80-0.94) for each increase of one percent in mean slope. Conclusions: Living in a hilly neighbourhood may be protective of diabetes onset or this finding is spurious. Nevertheless, the results are promising and have implications for future research and the practice of flattening land in new housing developments.
KW - Adults
KW - Built environment
KW - Diabetes
KW - Hilly
KW - Neighbourhood
KW - Slope
KW - Terrain
KW - Walking
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84890449259&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84890449259&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1476-072x-12-59
DO - 10.1186/1476-072x-12-59
M3 - Article
VL - 12
JO - International Journal of Health Geographics
JF - International Journal of Health Geographics
SN - 1476-072X
IS - 1
M1 - 59
ER -