Deborah N. Pearlman, PhD¹, Colleen M. Caron, PhD², Stephen Meersman, PhD³, John Fulton, PHD², and Hanna Kim, PhD². (1) Department of Community Health, Brown University, Box G - ST 103, Providence, RI 02912, 401 863 3211, deborah_pearlman@brown.edu, (2) Rhode Island Department of Health, 3 Capitol Hill, Providence, RI 02908, (3) Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University, Box G - ST 103, Providence, RI 02912

Objectives. To determine whether neighborhood characteristics (poverty, low education, racial segregation) are associated with childhood overweight and childhood asthma, independently of individual, family, and household characteristics.

Methods. Analyses were based on the 2001 Rhode Island Health Interview Survey linked to the 2000 US census. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine factors associated with overweight (BMI-for-age > 85th percentile) in children ages 6-17 years (n = 1690) and asthma in children ages 0-17 years (n = 1867). Individual, family, and neighborhood variables were entered into the models in successive blocks. Each neighborhood characteristic was tested in a separate model because of multicollinearity.

Results. Modest neighborhood effects were found for overweight, but there were no significant neighborhood effects for asthma. Childhood obesity was positively associated with living in a neighborhood where > 20% of residents lacked a high school diploma or had incomes < 200% of the federal poverty level. Children in families where parents had < HS diploma also were more likely to be overweight. Being older (ages 11-17), Black, having parents with low educational attainment, or living in damp housing (asthma “trigger”) were significantly associated with asthma.

Conclusion. Our study is the first to document how social disadvantage, at both the family and neighborhood levels, may increase the risk of childhood overweight. Asthma prevalence appeared to be more closely associated with individual, family, and household circumstances. Recent increases in childhood overweight and asthma are not likely to be reversed in the absence of interventions that reduce social inequalities.

Learning Objectives:

Learning Objectives
• The learner will increase his/her knowledge of analyzing data using population-based surveys linked to US census data.
• The learner will be able to apply an ecological model to multilevel analysis of chronic disease prevalence and associated risk factors.
• The learner will be able to apply an ecological model to guide public health interventions and policies aimed at changing individual health behaviors and the environments in which people live.

Keywords: Minority Health, Adolescent Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.