0
0
New Haven, CT – A recent study from the Yale School of Medicine has revealed that living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods—characterized by high unemployment, poor housing, low-quality schools, and widespread poverty—can significantly impact the health and well-being of older adults. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, provides new insights into the long-term mortality risks associated with neighborhood disadvantage among older Americans.
Dr. Thomas Gill, lead researcher and Humana Foundation Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) at Yale, emphasized the importance of examining the social and environmental factors that influence health outcomes. “While individual predictors like age, sex, and comorbidities have been widely studied, less is understood about the broader contextual determinants of health, such as neighborhood environments,” Gill stated.
Key Findings
Using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), the researchers analyzed the experiences of 7,505 community-living older adults across the continental U.S. They found that 15.6% of participants resided in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The study highlighted disparities across demographic and socioeconomic groups, with geographic areas like Mississippi and Alabama showing higher concentrations of disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Certain factors increased the likelihood of living in these areas:
- Older adults with frailty were twice as likely to live in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
- Those without a high school diploma were three and a half times more likely to reside in such areas.
Over the 10-year study period, living in a disadvantaged neighborhood was initially associated with an 18% increase in mortality. However, after adjusting for individual socioeconomic characteristics, the link between neighborhood disadvantage and mortality lost statistical significance.
“This adjustment underscores the intertwined effects of individual and neighborhood-level factors,” Gill explained.
A National Perspective
Previous research by the team focused on a cohort of older adults in Southern Connecticut, but using NHATS data allowed the researchers to assess a nationally representative sample. Co-author Dr. Robert Becher, an associate professor of surgery at Yale, stressed the importance of this broader perspective. “Neighborhood disadvantage has significant downstream consequences for the health and longevity of older adults,” Becher said.
The study contributes to a growing body of evidence on how contextual social determinants, such as neighborhood environments, exacerbate health risks for vulnerable populations.
Implications for Policy and Practice
The findings highlight the need for interventions that address both individual and community-level factors to reduce health disparities among older adults. By understanding how disadvantaged neighborhoods compound health risks, policymakers and healthcare providers can better target resources to improve outcomes for at-risk populations.
As Dr. Gill noted, “For individuals who already face health challenges, living in a disadvantaged neighborhood likely intensifies their risks, making targeted interventions even more crucial.”
For more details, read the full study: Thomas M. Gill et al, Neighborhood Disadvantage in a Nationally Representative Sample of Community-Living Older US Adults, JAMA Network Open (2024).
Journal Reference:
JAMA Network Open, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.50332
