Walkability and its association with prevalent and incident diabetes among adults in different regions of Germany: results of pooled data from five German cohorts.
BMC Endocr Disord 2020;
20:7. [PMID:
31931801 PMCID:
PMC6958624 DOI:
10.1186/s12902-019-0485-x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Highly walkable neighbourhoods may increase transport-related and leisure-time physical activity and thus decrease the risk for obesity and obesity-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D).
METHODS
We investigated the association between walkability and prevalent/incident T2D in a pooled sample from five German cohorts. Three walkability measures were assigned to participant's addresses: number of transit stations, points of interest, and impedance (restrictions to walking due to absence of intersections and physical barriers) within 640 m. We estimated associations between walkability and prevalent/incident T2D with modified Poisson regressions and adjusted for education, sex, age at baseline, and cohort.
RESULTS
Of the baseline 16,008 participants, 1256 participants had prevalent T2D. Participants free from T2D at baseline were followed over a mean of 9.2 years (SD: 3.5, minimum: 1.6, maximum: 14.8 years). Of these, 1032 participants developed T2D. The three walkability measures were not associated with T2D. The estimates pointed toward a zero effect or were within 7% relative risk increase per 1 standard deviation with 95% confidence intervals including 1.
CONCLUSION
In the studied German settings, walkability differences might not explain differences in T2D.
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