Key result
Physical activity mediates the link between neighborhood problems and metabolic syndrome severity in Black adults.
Why the study?
Neighborhood characteristics are known risk factors for metabolic syndrome, but the intermediary factors linking this relationship remain understudied.
Does perceived neighborhood social environment associate with metabolic syndrome severity, and is this mediated by C-reactive protein, physical activity, or perceived stress in Black adults?
Observational
Does perceived neighborhood social environment associate with metabolic syndrome severity, and is this mediated by C-reactive protein, physical activity, or perceived stress in Black adults?
Neighborhood social environment factors are directly associated with metabolic syndrome severity in Black women, with physical activity acting as a sex-specific mediator.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Suggests neighborhood-targeted activity programs warrant testing in Black adults; leaves open causal pathways and clinical impact.
BACKGROUND: Neighborhood characteristics serve as risk factors for metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, the intermediary factors linking this relationship remain understudied. Thus, we investigated the sex-specific mediating role of C-reactive protein, physical activity (PA), and perceived stress in the associations of perceived neighborhood social environment (PNSE) with MetS severity among Black adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: scores were calculated based on the Adult Treatment Panel III criteria formula. PNSE included neighborhood violence, problems, and social cohesion. Men and women were analyzed separately. A bootstrap resampling technique with 95% bias-corrected CI (95% BC CI) was used to evaluate whether C-reactive protein, PA, and perceived stress mediated the association between each PNSE and MetS severity, adjusting for covariates. All PNSE factors were directly related to MetS severity in women but not in men. In women, neighborhood problems were indirectly associated with MetS severity mediated through PA (β=0.02 [95% BC CI, 0.00-0.05]). In men, neighborhood violence, problems, and social cohesion were indirectly associated with MetS severity mediated through PA (β=0.05 [95% BC CI, 0.01-0.10]; β=0.03 [95% BC CI, 0.00-0.06]; and β=-0.04 [95% BC CI, -0.09 to -0.01], respectively). Neither C-reactive protein nor perceived stress mediated such associations in either women or men. CONCLUSIONS: All PNSEs (violence, problems, and social cohesion) were directly related to MetS severity in women only. PA mediated the relationship between each PNSE and MetS in a sex-specific manner. Efforts focusing on local conditions are needed to better understand why such disparities exist for at-risk minoritized groups.
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Moniruzzaman et al. (2024) conducted an observational in Metabolic syndrome. Perceived neighborhood social environment (PNSE) was evaluated on Metabolic syndrome severity mediated through physical activity (β=0.02, 95% CI 0.00-0.05). Physical activity mediated the association between neighborhood problems and metabolic syndrome severity in Black women and men.
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