Associations of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions with self-rated health, mental distress, and health behaviors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan

Although associations between neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and health have been well established, their geographical scope is mostly limited to Western societies, while multilevel studies in the non-Western context (e.g., Japan) are limited to specific cities/regions within countries. This...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tomoya Hanibuchi, Tomoki Nakaya
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2020-06-01
Series:Preventive Medicine Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335520300358
_version_ 1818299067966423040
author Tomoya Hanibuchi
Tomoki Nakaya
author_facet Tomoya Hanibuchi
Tomoki Nakaya
author_sort Tomoya Hanibuchi
collection DOAJ
description Although associations between neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and health have been well established, their geographical scope is mostly limited to Western societies, while multilevel studies in the non-Western context (e.g., Japan) are limited to specific cities/regions within countries. This consequently limits the external validity of the findings. To fill the gap, this study examined the associations between neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and health-related indicators by using nationwide cross-sectional data in Japan. Individual data was collected from a nationwide online survey conducted in 2015 (n = 4593). Self-rated health, mental distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale: K6), smoking, and physical activity were analyzed in relation to neighborhood conditions. Analyses of multilevel logistic regression models were done using the Areal Deprivation Index (ADI) with population density as the neighborhood-level independent variable. After adjusting for individual covariates, ADI showed significant positive associations with poor self-rated health (odds ratio for one standard deviation increase and 95% confidence interval: 1.09, 1.00–1.19), mental distress (1.09, 1.02–1.16), current smoking (1.11, 1.03–1.19), and physical inactivity (1.11, 1.04–1.18). Population density was not associated with the four dependent variables. Analyses of the nationwide survey data in Japan showed that neighborhood socioeconomic conditions were independently associated with multiple health statuses and behaviors. These analyses may contribute to generalizing existing findings. Lastly, the results indicate the importance of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions in reducing health disparities in Japan.
first_indexed 2024-12-13T04:45:20Z
format Article
id doaj.art-7bcc9664819f402294f2cdd9bcd1ca70
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2211-3355
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-13T04:45:20Z
publishDate 2020-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Preventive Medicine Reports
spelling doaj.art-7bcc9664819f402294f2cdd9bcd1ca702022-12-21T23:59:10ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552020-06-0118Associations of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions with self-rated health, mental distress, and health behaviors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in JapanTomoya Hanibuchi0Tomoki Nakaya1School of International Liberal Studies, Chukyo University, 101-2 Yagoto-honmachi, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8666, Japan; Department of Geography, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA; Corresponding author at: School of International Liberal Studies, Chukyo University, 101-2 Yagoto-honmachi, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8666, Japan.Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, JapanAlthough associations between neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and health have been well established, their geographical scope is mostly limited to Western societies, while multilevel studies in the non-Western context (e.g., Japan) are limited to specific cities/regions within countries. This consequently limits the external validity of the findings. To fill the gap, this study examined the associations between neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and health-related indicators by using nationwide cross-sectional data in Japan. Individual data was collected from a nationwide online survey conducted in 2015 (n = 4593). Self-rated health, mental distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale: K6), smoking, and physical activity were analyzed in relation to neighborhood conditions. Analyses of multilevel logistic regression models were done using the Areal Deprivation Index (ADI) with population density as the neighborhood-level independent variable. After adjusting for individual covariates, ADI showed significant positive associations with poor self-rated health (odds ratio for one standard deviation increase and 95% confidence interval: 1.09, 1.00–1.19), mental distress (1.09, 1.02–1.16), current smoking (1.11, 1.03–1.19), and physical inactivity (1.11, 1.04–1.18). Population density was not associated with the four dependent variables. Analyses of the nationwide survey data in Japan showed that neighborhood socioeconomic conditions were independently associated with multiple health statuses and behaviors. These analyses may contribute to generalizing existing findings. Lastly, the results indicate the importance of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions in reducing health disparities in Japan.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335520300358NeighborhoodsSocioeconomic conditionsDeprivationMultilevel analysisJapan
spellingShingle Tomoya Hanibuchi
Tomoki Nakaya
Associations of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions with self-rated health, mental distress, and health behaviors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan
Preventive Medicine Reports
Neighborhoods
Socioeconomic conditions
Deprivation
Multilevel analysis
Japan
title Associations of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions with self-rated health, mental distress, and health behaviors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan
title_full Associations of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions with self-rated health, mental distress, and health behaviors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan
title_fullStr Associations of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions with self-rated health, mental distress, and health behaviors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan
title_full_unstemmed Associations of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions with self-rated health, mental distress, and health behaviors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan
title_short Associations of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions with self-rated health, mental distress, and health behaviors: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan
title_sort associations of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions with self rated health mental distress and health behaviors a nationwide cross sectional study in japan
topic Neighborhoods
Socioeconomic conditions
Deprivation
Multilevel analysis
Japan
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335520300358
work_keys_str_mv AT tomoyahanibuchi associationsofneighborhoodsocioeconomicconditionswithselfratedhealthmentaldistressandhealthbehaviorsanationwidecrosssectionalstudyinjapan
AT tomokinakaya associationsofneighborhoodsocioeconomicconditionswithselfratedhealthmentaldistressandhealthbehaviorsanationwidecrosssectionalstudyinjapan