TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2009//
TI  - Neighborhood characteristics and disability in older adults
JO  - Journals of gerontology. Series B: psychological sciences and social sciences
A1  - Vlahov, David
A1  - Rundle, Andrew
A1  - Ompad, Danielle
A1  - Lovasi, Gina S.
A1  - Frye, Victoria
A1  - Cerdá, Magdalena
A1  - Blaney, Shannon
A1  - Beard, John R.
SP  - 252
EP  - 257
VL  - 64
IS  - 2
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To characterize the influence of the residential neighborhood of older adults on the prevalence of disability. <br><br>METHODS: We combined Census data on disability in older adults living in New York City with environmental information from a comprehensive geospatial database. We used factor analysis to derive dimensions of compositional and physical neighborhood characteristics and linear regression to model their association with levels of disability. Measures of neighborhood collective efficacy were added to these models to explore the impact of the social environment. <br><br>RESULTS: Low neighborhood socioeconomic status, residential instability, living in areas with low proportions of foreign born and high proportions of Black residents, and negative street characteristics were associated with higher prevalence of both "physical" disability and "going outside the home" disability. High crime levels were additionally associated with physical disability, although this relationship disappeared when misdemeanor arrests were removed from the crime variable. Low levels of collective efficacy were associated with more going-outside-the-home disability, with racial/ethnic composition dropping out of this model to be replaced by an interaction term. <br><br>CONCLUSION: The urban environment may have a substantial impact on whether an older adult with a given level of functional impairment is able to age actively and remain independent.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1079-5014
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbn018
ID  - ref1
ER  -