Pavements to Longevity: The Influence of Neighborhood Walkability on Mortality in Taiwan

BACKGROUND: There is limited information on the association between walkability and health in Asian countries. OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to investigate the association between neighborhood walkability and mortality in Taiwanese adults. METHODS: of participant's addresses: points of interest (POI), transit stations, and impedance (restrictions to walking due to absence of intersections and physical barriers). Walkability measures were applied as continuous and categorical (tertiles) variables in data analyses. Mortality data were obtained from the National Death Registry maintained by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan. A time-varying Cox regression model was used to investigate the association of neighborhood walkability with deaths from natural causes and specific causes. RESULTS: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.03) increased risk of natural-cause mortality. We also found significantly inverse associations between three walkability measures with deaths from cardiovascular diseases and between POI and death from chronic respiratory diseases. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that a higher level of neighborhood walkability was associated with a lower risk of mortality. Our data suggest that it is important to take into account neighborhood walkability in urban planning and health guideline development. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP15209.