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Article
Conceptualizing Neighborhood Space: Consistency and Variation of Associations for Neighborhood Factors and Pregnancy Health Across Multiple Neighborhood Units
Health Place
  • Lynne C. Messer, Portland State University
  • Lisa C. Vinikoor-Imler, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Barbara A. Laraia, University of California - San Francisco
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Subjects
  • Neighborhoods -- Health aspects,
  • Air -- Pollution -- Health aspects,
  • Prenatal influences,
  • Pregnancy -- Environmental aspects
Abstract

The purpose of this research was to assess the consistency of associations between neighborhood characteristics and pregnancy-related behaviors and outcomes across four nested neighborhood boundaries using race-stratified fixed-slope random-intercept multilevel logistic models. High incivilities was associated with increased smoking, inadequate weight gain and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), while walkability was associated with decreased smoking and PIH for white women across all neighborhood definitions. For African American women, high incivilities was associated with increased smoking and inadequate gestational weight gain, while more walkable neighborhoods appeared protective against smoking and inadequate weight gain in all but the smallest neighborhoods. Associations with neighborhood attributes were similar in effect size across geographies, but less precise as neighborhoods became smaller.

Description

This work was authored as part of the Contributor's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law. This is the publisher’s final pdf.

The article can be found online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.03.012

*At the time of publication Lynne C. Messer was affiliated with Duke University

DOI
10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.03.012
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/15800
Citation Information
Messer LC, Vinikoor-Imler LC, Laraia BA. Conceptualizing neighborhood space: consistency and variation of associations for neighborhood factors and pregnancy health across multiple neighborhood units. Health and Place, Jul;18(4): 805-13. 2012.