 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Ying-Chih Chuang, PhD, Marilyn A. Winkleby, PhD, MPH, Catherine Cubbin, PhD, David Ahn, and Namita Oswal. Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1000 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1825, (650)724-5192, yingchih@stanford.edu
Previous studies have found that living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods is associated with higher levels of smoking and drinking than living in advantaged neighborhoods, independent of individual characteristics. We hypothesize that socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods are associated with higher individual smoking and drinking because of greater availability of cigarettes and alcohol. Individual-level data (e.g. sociodemographic characteristics, smoking, drinking) were obtained from 8,419 women and men, who lived in 82 neighborhoods in four northern California cities, and participated in one of five cross-sectional surveys for the Stanford Heart Disease Prevention Project (1979 to 1990). Participants' survey data were linked with U.S. census data (1980 and 1990) to determine neighborhood characteristics (e.g., poverty concentration) and with historical data to determine cigarette and alcohol outlet densities (e.g., convenience stores, liquor stores). Multi-level logistic regression models will be applied to estimate neighborhood effects on smoking and drinking. First, smoking and drinking will be regressed on neighborhood characteristics and cigarette and alcohol outlet density. Second, individual characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education, income, race/ethnicity) will be added in the model to determine whether neighborhood effects remain significant after controlling for individual characteristics. Third, interaction terms between neighborhood characteristics and cigarette and alcohol outlet density will be further added to the model, because socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods are expected to have a higher concentration of cigarette and alcohol outlets. Recommendations for cigarette and alcohol use policy will be made based on whether neighborhood characteristics and cigarette and alcohol outlet densities influence smoking and drinking behaviors.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.