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Life course neighborhood deprivation effects on body mass index: Quantifying the importance of selective migration

Murray, ET; Nicholas, O; Norman, P; Jivraj, S; (2021) Life course neighborhood deprivation effects on body mass index: Quantifying the importance of selective migration. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 18 (16) , Article 8339. 10.3390/ijerph18168339. Green open access

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Abstract

Neighborhood effects research is plagued by the inability to circumvent selection effects —the process of people sorting into neighborhoods. Data from two British Birth Cohorts, 1958 (ages 16, 23, 33, 42, 55) and 1970 (ages 16, 24, 34, 42), and structural equation modelling, were used to investigate life course relationships between body mass index (BMI) and area deprivation (addresses at each age linked to the closest census 1971–2011 Townsend score [TOWN], re-calculated to reflect consistent 2011 lower super output area boundaries). Initially, models were examined for: (1) area deprivation only, (2) health selection only and (3) both. In the best-fitting model, all relationships were then tested for effect modification by residential mobility by inclusion of interaction terms. For both cohorts, both BMI and area deprivation strongly tracked across the life course. Health selection, or higher BMI associated with higher area deprivation at the next study wave, was apparent at three intervals: 1958 cohort, BMI at age 23 y and TOWN at age 33 y and BMI at age 33 y and TOWN at age 42 y; 1970 cohort, BMI at age 34 y and TOWN at age 42 y, while paths between area deprivation and BMI at the next interval were seen in both cohorts, over all intervals, except for the association between TOWN at age 23 y and BMI at age 33 y in the 1958 cohort. None of the associations varied by moving status. In conclusion, for BMI, selective migration does not appear to account for associations.

Type: Article
Title: Life course neighborhood deprivation effects on body mass index: Quantifying the importance of selective migration
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18168339
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168339
Language: English
Additional information: © 2021 MDPI. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: neighborhood effects; neighborhood deprivation; Townsend index; body mass index; health selection; longitudinal; birth cohort
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Statistical Science
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10132816
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