Police-Recorded Crime and Perceived Stress among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE)

Gestational exposure to neighborhood police-reported crime and early childhood blood pressure in Durham, NC

Gestational exposure to police-reported crime is associated with adverse birth outcomes, but no previous research has evaluated the effects of gestational crime exposure on early childhood health or attempted to disentangle the health effects of neighborhood crime from the effects of neighborhood policing. Using data from 672 Newborn Epigenetics Study participants, we evaluate the effects of gestational exposure to violent crime and racialized drug policing on early childhood blood pressure. We demonstrate that violence and drug policing are consistently associated with increased blood pressure among children born to Black participants but not White or Latinx participants.

Estimating exposure to neighborhood crime by race and ethnicity for public health research

BACKGROUND

Police-reported crime data (hereafter "crime") is routinely used as a psychosocial stressor in public health research, yet few studies have jointly examined (a) differences in crime exposure based on participant race and ethnicity, (b) differences in measures of crime exposure, and (c) considerations for how exposure to police is captured in police-recorded crime data. We estimate neighborhood exposure to crime and discuss the implications of structural differences in exposure to crime and police based on race and ethnicity.

METHODS

Using GPS coordinates from 1188 participants in the Newborn Epigenetics Study, we estimated gestational exposure to crime provided by the Durham, North Carolina, Police Department within (a) 800 m and (b) the Census block group of residence. We controlled for non-overlapping spatial boundaries in crime, Census, residential, and police data to report crime spatial (crime per km2) and population (crime per 1000 people per km2) density.

RESULTS

We demonstrate dramatic disparities in exposure to crime based on participant race and ethnicity and highlight variability in these disparities based on the type of crime and crime measurement method chosen.

CONCLUSIONS

Public health researchers should give thoughtful consideration when using police-reported crime data to measure and model exposure to crime in the United States, as police-reported data encompasses joint exposure to police and crime in the neighborhood setting.

Neighborhood social cohesion is associated with lower levels of interleukin-6 in African American women

INTRODUCTION

Social cohesion is a positive neighborhood characteristic defined by feelings of connectedness and solidarity within a community. Studies have found significant associations between social cohesion and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and outcomes. Inflammation is one potential physiological pathway linking social cohesion to CVD development, but few studies have evaluated the relationship between social cohesion and inflammatory biomarkers. Prior research has also established that race and gender can modify the effects of neighborhood features, including social cohesion, on CVD risk factors and outcomes. This study aimed to examine the association between social cohesion and the inflammatory biomarkers interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in a cohort of African American and White women and men.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data from the Morehouse and Emory Team Up to Eliminate Health Disparities (META-Health) Study were used to assess the association between social cohesion and inflammation among African American (n = 203) and White (n = 176) adults from the Atlanta metropolitan area. Social cohesion was measured using the social cohesion subscale from the Neighborhood Health Questionnaire. Inflammatory biomarkers were measured from plasma frozen at -70 °C. Multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted, controlling for demographic, clinical, behavioral, and psychosocial factors sequentially. Interaction by race and gender was also examined.

RESULTS

In models adjusted for age, race, gender, and education, social cohesion was significantly associated with lower levels of IL-6 (β = -0.06, p = 0.03). There was a significant race × social cohesion interaction (p = 0.04), and a marginally significant gender × race × social cohesion interaction (p = 0.09). In race-stratified models controlling for age, gender, and education, social cohesion was associated with lower IL-6 levels in African Americans (β = -0.11, p = 0.01), but not Whites (β = 0.01, p = 0.91). In fully adjusted race- and gender-stratified models, social cohesion was associated with lower levels of IL-6 in African American women only (β = -0.15, p = 0.003). CRP was not associated with social cohesion in fully adjusted models.

CONCLUSION

The association between social cohesion and lower levels of IL-6 is modified by gender and race, with the strongest association emerging for African American women. Although the pathways through which social cohesion impacts inflammation remain unclear, it is possible that for African American women social cohesion manifests through neighborhood networks.