Author(s):
Sá, Regina ; Roquette, Rita ; Rebecchi, Andrea ; Matias, Judite ; Rocha, Jorge ; Buffoli, Maddalena ; Capolongo, Stefano ; Ribeiro, Ana Isabel ; Nunes, Baltazar ; Dias, Carlos ; Sousa Uva, Mafalda
Date: 2024
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/169115
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Subject(s): Built environment; Diabetes; Glycated haemoglobin; Urban planning; Walkability; Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being; SDG 15 - Life on Land
Description
Funding Information: Ana Isabel Ribeiro was supported by National Funds through FCT, under the programme of Stimulus of Scientific Employment\u2013Individual Support within the contract CEECIND/02386/2018. This study was also funded by FEDER through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology \u2013 FCT (Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education) under the Unidade de Investiga\u00E7\u00E3o em Epidemiologia - Instituto de Sa\u00FAde P\u00FAblica da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UIDB/04750/2020). Jorge Rocha was supported by UIDB/00295/2020 and UIDP/00295/2020 from Foundation for Science and Technology. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.
Diabetes poses a substantial disease burden, prompting preventive interventions. Physical inactivity, a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, can potentially be mitigated by enhancing area-level walkability. Despite this, limited population-based studies have investigated the link between walkability and objective diabetes measures. Our study aims to estimate the association between area-level walkability and individual glycated haemoglobin levels in the Portuguese adult population without the diagnosis of diabetes. Data from the 2011 census and an updated street map were obtained to construct a walkability index based on residential density, land-use mix, and street connectivity. Individual health data were sourced from The National Health Examination Survey (INSEF) 2015, a representative survey of the Portuguese adult population. Gamma regression was employed for estimation of the main associations, revealing that residing in moderately walkable areas significantly reduced average glycated haemoglobin levels (Exp(β) = 0.906; 95% CI: 0.821, 0.999) compared to the least walkable areas. The association was less pronounced and not statistically significant for the third tertile of walkability (Exp(β) = 0.919; 95% CI: 0.822, 1.028). Our findings highlight a nonlinear protective association between walkability and glycated haemoglobin, emphasizing the potential policy implications for urban planning, diabetes prevention, and health promotion.
