Neighborhood deprivation and health risk behaviors in NHANES III

Objective: To examine whether neighborhood-level socioeconomic status is an independent risk factor for health risk behaviors. Methods: Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were linked with census tracts from the 1990 US Census. Outcome variables included biomarkers for smoking and high dietary fat intake, and self-reported excessive alcohol consumption and physical inactivity. Results: Multivariate logistic regression showed an association between high levels of neighborhood deprivation and increased odds of health risk behaviors independent of sociodemographic factors, BMI, and comorbidities. Conclusion: Living in highly deprived neighborhoods is associated with risky health behaviors.