Neighborhood Environment Influences Diabetes Risk

Posted on 2009-10-14 08:14:14 in Diabetes | Health Disparities | Lifestyle |

Access to, and availability of, residential assets such as exercise opportunities and healthy dining options, help to prevent the onset of type-2 diabetes. People living in residential areas with easily accessible and readily available options for exercise opportunities and healthy dining choices are at reduced risk of developing type-2 diabetes.  Amy Auchincloss, from Drexel University (Pennsylvania, USA), and colleagues studied 2,285 participants of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, ages 45 to 84 years at the study’s start.  The team collected data on neighborhood assets and screened the subjects for diabetes. After a five-year period, the team found that living in areas with "[b]etter neighborhood resources, determined by a combined score for physical activity and healthy foods, [was] associated with a 38% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes."

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Amy H. Auchincloss, Ana V. Diez Roux, Mahasin S. Mujahid, Mingwu Shen, Alain G. Bertoni, Mercedes R. Carnethon.  “Neighborhood Resources for Physical Activity and Healthy Foods and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.” Arch Intern Med, Oct 2009; 169: 1698 - 1704.

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