Association between perceived neighborhood environment and health of middle-aged women living in rapidly changing urban Mongolia

Abstract

BackgroundThis study was conducted in rapidly urbanizing Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to examine patterns of perceived neighborhood quality by residents and the associations between these patterns and self-reported general and mental health in middle-aged women.MethodsA questionnaire survey was administered to 960 women aged 40–60 years. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics, subjects’ perception of their neighborhood environment, general health status, and mental health as measured using a 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) were reported.ResultsA total of 830 women completed the questionnaire. Subjects reporting their general health as very good or good accounted for 80.3% and those with a GHQ12 ≥16, which reflects psychological distress or severe distress, accounted for 16.1%. A principal component analysis of the perceptions of neighborhood environment by the residents identified six qualities: physical environment, designed environment, neighborhood community, public safety, natural environment, and citizen services. The perception of better-quality citizen services in the neighborhood was associated with better self-reported general health (odds ratio [OR] = 1.330, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.093–1.618), and the perception of better-quality public safety was associated with less psychological distress (OR = 0.718, 95% CI 0.589–0.876); these associations were independent of education, income, occupation, type of residential area, and number of years living in the current khoroo.ConclusionsThe perception of the quality of a neighborhood environment can affect the self-reported general and mental health of residents, even after accounting for the type of residential area and individual socio-economic status. Developing high-quality neighborhoods is an essential component of good planning to promote population health in urban environments.

Early Life Environments and Frailty in Old Age Among Chinese Older Adults

“…38 Social cohesion, reflected by two dimensions of neighborhood quality in our study-willing to help and close-knit-represents the density of social networks, structure of social relationships, and personal involvement in society, 42 all of which are associated with health outcomes. 42,43 Perceived neighborhood environment may be influenced by social norms, lifestyle and physical quality of environment, 44 and can further reshape the stressfulness of life events to individuals and the degree of intimacy among dwellings within a neighborhood, which, in turn, influencing health. 42,43,45 The present study has several strengths.…”

Analyzing the South-North Gap in the High-Quality Development of China’s Urbanization

“…(2) social security, such as investment in science and technology and education [17], health development and public health related to the lives of urban dwellers [18], population and employment [19], and urban transport and other urban functions related to infrastructure construction [20,21], as well as neighborhood environment [22] and citizen satisfaction, social services, institutional factors [23].…”

The Effect of Built Environment on Physical Health and Mental Health of Adults: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study in China

“…Previous studies found that the physical and perceived environments of neighborhoods also contributed to health [ 18 , 19 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. We adapted the theoretical framework and included the following domains: housing affordability, housing security, housing quality, neighborhood services, physical environment, and perceived environment.…”

“…Doyle et al (2006) suggested that individuals would be healthier if they lived in an active community environment, which they defined as one in which they could easily participate in physical activities [ 36 ]. Notably, better-quality citizen services in neighborhoods were associated with better self-reported general health and wellbeing across all age groups [ 19 , 21 ].…”

“…Specifically, housing conditions such as affordability [ 8 , 9 ], quality [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], and security [ 8 , 13 , 14 ] have been found to impact self-rated health status [ 10 ] and increase the risk of depression [ 15 ] and other diseases [ 9 , 16 ]. In addition, neighborhood characteristics including physical characteristics (e.g., pollution), social–cultural factors (e.g., social cohesion), and community resource access (e.g., recreational facilities) [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ] have each been observed to impact residents’ physical [ 18 , 21 ] and mental health [ 22 ].…”