Analyzing the impact of public transit usage on obesity.

Prev Med

Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States.

Published: June 2017

The objective of this paper is to estimate the impact of county-level public transit usage on obesity prevalence in the United States and assess the potential for public transit usage as an intervention for obesity. This study adopts an instrumental regression approach to implicitly control for potential selection bias due to possible differences in commuting preferences among obese and non-obese populations. United States health data from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and transportation data from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey are aggregated and matched at the county level. County-level public transit accessibility and vehicle ownership rates are chosen as instrumental variables to implicitly control for unobservable commuting preferences. The results of this instrumental regression analysis suggest that a one percent increase in county population usage of public transit is associated with a 0.221 percent decrease in county population obesity prevalence at the α=0.01 statistical significance level, when commuting preferences, amount of non-travel physical activity, education level, health resource, and distribution of income are fixed. Hence, this study provides empirical support for the effectiveness of encouraging public transit usage as an intervention strategy for obesity.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.03.010DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

public transit
24
transit usage
16
commuting preferences
12
usage obesity
8
county-level public
8
obesity prevalence
8
united states
8
usage intervention
8
instrumental regression
8
implicitly control
8

Similar Publications

Association between governmental spending on social services and health care use among low-income older adults.

Health Aff Sch

January 2025

Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States.

Prior research demonstrates that local government spending on social policies, excluding health care, is linked to improved population health. Whether such spending is associated with better access to primary care and reduced acute care utilization remains unclear. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the associations between county-level social spending and individual-level health care utilization among low-income Medicare beneficiaries, aged ≥65 years, from 2016 to 2018.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The hospital at home (HaH) model has become more prevalent in the American healthcare system due to its ability to decrease acute care costs and readmission risk. Recent publications have provided guidance on optimizing medication management and patient safety by leveraging clinical pharmacy services. There is limited data on pharmacoeconomic impact of HaH implementation, specifically in underinsured patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplantation: Your questions answered.

Perit Dial Int

January 2025

Division of Nephrology, St Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) and kidney transplantation are important therapeutic options in patients with advanced kidney disease. This article delineates the relationship between PD and kidney transplantation in several key domains, including: (1) Comparative merits and limitations of PD versus center-based hemodialysis prior to kidney transplantation, (2) Patient outcomes after kidney transplantation in individuals receiving PD prior to kidney transplantation, (3) Perioperative management strategies of patients receiving PD at the time of kidney transplantation, and (4) The relative advantages and clinical outcomes of PD use following kidney allograft failure compared to other modalities. This article aims to provide comprehensive guidance for optimizing care across the PD-kidney transplant transitions continuum.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Hip joint (HJ) pain, which may be caused by lumbar disease, is a common complaint.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence and specific correlations between various HJ diseases and lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in patients with HJ pain.

Material And Methods: Patients with the chief complaint of HJ pain who had both HJ MRI and lumbar MRI were retrospectively included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Clinical Characteristics During and After COVID-19 Infection Among Healthcare Workers During the First Wave of Omicron in Chongqing, China.

Immun Inflamm Dis

January 2025

Department of Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Institute for Viral Hepatitis, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.

Background: Revealing the clinical manifestations and associations of COVID-19 before and after negative transition remains an area of significant uncertainty. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical characteristics observed during and after Omicron infection among a specific population, namely healthcare workers (HCWs).

Methods: From November 4, 2022, to January 15, 2023, HCWs in our hospital were enrolled to document clinical symptoms, prevention, and treatment for COVID-19 using a structured questionnaire.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!