Key result
Lower neighborhood socioeconomic status links to up to ~204% higher overweight/obesity odds in Asian Americans.
Why the study?
Asian Americans are the fastest-growing group in the United States, yet the relationship between neighborhood socio-economic status and cardiometabolic health has not been thoroughly examined.
Is lower neighborhood socioeconomic status associated with increased odds of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes among Asian American residents of New York City?
Is lower neighborhood socioeconomic status associated with increased odds of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes among Asian American residents of New York City?
Lower neighborhood socioeconomic status is associated with higher odds of overweight and obesity among Asian Americans in New York City.
Supports targeted CV risk reduction in low-SES Asian American neighborhoods; extends observational evidence to this population but should not yet change practice.
Asian Americans represent the fastest-growing group in the United States. Yet the relationship between neighborhood socio-economic status (NSES) and cardiometabolic health has not been thoroughly examined. The study goal is to determine the association between NSES with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes among Asian American subgroups. Data from 4,557 self-identified Chinese, Asians from the Indian sub-continent, or Other Asian participants of the 2017-2020 New York City Community Health Survey were analyzed. Each participant was geo-coded into one of 55 community districts and a NSES factor score was calculated and categorized into low, medium, or high NSES. Overweight/obesity, hypertension, and diabetes were self-reported. Hierarchical multivariable adjusted regression models were used to evaluate the association between NSES and cardiometabolic health. Compared with high NSES, residing in a neighborhood of medium NSES was associated with higher odds of obesity (OR: 2.70, 95% CI: 1.43, 5.13) among Other Asians and higher odds of overweight/obesity among “All Asians” (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.89), Chinese (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.62), and “other Asians” (OR: 3.04, 95% CI: 1.39, 6.69). Lower compared with higher NSES was associated with overweight/obesity among Asian Americans in NYC.
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Shankar et al. (2026) studied this question. Lower neighborhood socioeconomic status was associated with higher odds of overweight/obesity among Asian American subgroups in NYC, with ORs up to 3.04.
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