Neighborhood Conditions and Resources in Mid-Childhood and Dampness and Pests at Home in Adolescence

Abstract

Objective: To examine prospectively associations of neighborhood opportunity with the presence of dampness or pests in the home environment during early adolescence.

Study design: We geocoded residential addresses from 831 children (mean age 7.9 years, 2007-2011) in the Project Viva cohort. We linked each address with census tract-level Child Opportunity Index scores, which capture neighborhood conditions and resources influencing child heath including educational, health, environmental, and socioeconomic factors. Our primary outcome was presence of dampness or pests in the home in early adolescence (mean age 13.2 years, 2013-2016). Secondary outcomes included current asthma and lung function testing results. Mixed-effects regression models estimated longitudinal associations of Child Opportunity Index scores with outcomes, adjusting for individual and family sociodemographics.

Results: Children residing in neighborhoods with greater overall opportunity were less likely to live in homes with dampness or pests approximately 5 years later (aOR 0.85 per 20-unit increase in Child Opportunity Index percentile rank, 95% CI 0.73-0.998). We observed no significant associations in adjusted models of overall neighborhood opportunity with current asthma or lung function. Lower school poverty or single-parent households and greater access to healthy food or economic resource index were associated with lower odds of a home environment with dampness or pests.

Conclusions: More favorable neighborhood conditions in mid-childhood were associated with lower likelihood of living in a home with dampness or pests in the early adolescence.

Keywords: asthma; health inequities; household asthma triggers; neighborhoods.

Figure 1.. Flowchart of study sample from Project Viva cohort.

Figure 2.. Longitudinal associations of overall and domain-specific neighborhood Child Opportunity Index scores in mid-childhood with presence of dampness or pests in the home, current asthma, and FEV1/FVC in the lowest quintile in early adolescence.

Odds ratios and effect estimates reflect a per 20-unit increase in Child Opportunity Index scores. All models are adjusted for sex at birth, race/ethnicity, maternal education, prenatal smoking exposure, household income, parental asthma prior to the child’s birth, and clustering by census tract. Models predicting FEV1/FVC in the lowest quintile are additionally adjusted for age and height at the early adolescent visit. OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval, FEV1 = forced expiratory volume in the first second, FVC = forced vital capacity.

Figure 3.. Longitudinal associations of specific indicators of Child Opportunity Index scores in mid-childhood with the presence of dampness or pests in the home in early adolescence.

Odds ratios and effect estimates reflect a per z-score increase in Child Opportunity Index scores. All models are adjusted for sex at birth, race/ethnicity, maternal education, prenatal smoking exposure, household income, parental asthma prior to the child’s birth, and clustering by census tract. Higher scores reflect higher opportunity levels for all items.