IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v361y2024ics027795362400813x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unlocking the night: Exploring the health impacts of night-time walking environments on health outcomes of older adults

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Hang
  • Liu, Huijun
  • Zhao, Liqiang

Abstract

Walking remains the primary form of physical activity for many older adults in China, and the quality of the walking environment at night may determine the frequency and duration of evening outings. This study reveals how night-time environmental features influence the health outcomes of older adults. Using the medical check-up records of 87,578 older adults from a public health service in the Beilin district of Xi'an city, China, the role of the night-time walking environment in managing chronic conditions was examined. A favorable night-time walking environment reduced the prevalence of chronic conditions and comorbidities among older adults. However, the health effects stemming from the night-time walking environment exhibited heterogeneity, with significant impacts only on metabolic conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes, while the effects on other conditions were not significant. Our findings supplement the theory of healthy aging by highlighting the potential value of the environment in managing chronic conditions, which may serve as a cost-effective health intervention for aging societies.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Hang & Liu, Huijun & Zhao, Liqiang, 2024. "Unlocking the night: Exploring the health impacts of night-time walking environments on health outcomes of older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:361:y:2024:i:c:s027795362400813x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117359
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795362400813X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117359?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. King, Abby C. & Sallis, James F. & Frank, Lawrence D. & Saelens, Brian E. & Cain, Kelli & Conway, Terry L. & Chapman, James E. & Ahn, David K. & Kerr, Jacqueline, 2011. "Aging in neighborhoods differing in walkability and income: Associations with physical activity and obesity in older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(10), pages 1525-1533.
    2. Hansen Li & Haowei Liu & Zongqian Yang & Shilin Bi & Yang Cao & Guodong Zhang, 2020. "The Effects of Green and Urban Walking in Different Time Frames on Physio-Psychological Responses of Middle-Aged and Older People in Chengdu, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Ga Eul Yoo & Sung Jin Hong & Hyun Ju Chong, 2022. "Nighttime Walking with Music: Does Music Mediate the Influence of Personal Distress on Perceived Safety?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-13, January.
    4. Sallis, James F. & Saelens, Brian E. & Frank, Lawrence D. & Conway, Terry L. & Slymen, Donald J. & Cain, Kelli L. & Chapman, James E. & Kerr, Jacqueline, 2009. "Neighborhood built environment and income: Examining multiple health outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1285-1293, April.
    5. Cain, Kelli L. & Millstein, Rachel A. & Sallis, James F. & Conway, Terry L. & Gavand, Kavita A. & Frank, Lawrence D. & Saelens, Brian E. & Geremia, Carrie M. & Chapman, James & Adams, Marc A. & Glanz,, 2014. "Contribution of streetscape audits to explanation of physical activity in four age groups based on the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 82-92.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ottoni, Callista A. & Sims-Gould, Joanie & Winters, Meghan & Heijnen, Myrthe & McKay, Heather A., 2016. "“Benches become like porches”: Built and social environment influences on older adults’ experiences of mobility and well-being," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 33-41.
    2. Razieh Zandieh & Johannes Flacke & Javier Martinez & Phil Jones & Martin Van Maarseveen, 2017. "Do Inequalities in Neighborhood Walkability Drive Disparities in Older Adults’ Outdoor Walking?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, July.
    3. Hong, Andy & Sallis, James F. & King, Abby C. & Conway, Terry L. & Saelens, Brian & Cain, Kelli L. & Fox, Eric H. & Frank, Lawrence D., 2018. "Linking green space to neighborhood social capital in older adults: The role of perceived safety," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 38-45.
    4. Courtney Coughenour & Hanns de la Fuente-Mella & Alexander Paz, 2019. "Analysis of Self-Reported Walking for Transit in a Sprawling Urban Metropolitan Area in the Western U.S," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Winters, Meghan & Voss, Christine & Ashe, Maureen C. & Gutteridge, Kaitlyn & McKay, Heather & Sims-Gould, Joanie, 2015. "Where do they go and how do they get there? Older adults' travel behaviour in a highly walkable environment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 304-312.
    6. Masayoshi Oka, 2015. "Measuring a neighborhood affluence-deprivation continuum in urban settings: Descriptive findings from four US cities," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(54), pages 1469-1486.
    7. Warner, Erica T. & Huguet, Nathalie & Fredericks, Michelle & Gundersen, Daniel & Nederveld, Andrea & Brown, Meagan C. & Houston, Thomas K. & Davis, Kia L. & Mazzucca, Stephanie & Rendle, Katharine A. , 2023. "Advancing health equity through implementation science: Identifying and examining measures of the outer setting," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    8. Deborah Salvo & Eugen Resendiz & Ana Stefancic & Leopoldo J. Cabassa, 2023. "Examining Place-Based Neighborhood Factors in a Multisite Peer-Led Healthy Lifestyle Effectiveness Trial for People with Serious Mental Illness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(9), pages 1-25, April.
    9. Yafeng Zou & Qi Wang & Min Deng & Yujie Wang, 2021. "Community Intervention System: COVID-19 Control in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-18, December.
    10. Mi Namgung & B. Elizabeth Mercado Gonzalez & Seungwoo Park, 2019. "The Role of Built Environment on Health of Older Adults in Korea: Obesity and Gender Differences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-13, September.
    11. Jayeun Kim & Kyuhyun Yoon, 2020. "Municipal Residence Level of Long-Term PM 10 Exposure Associated with Obesity among Young Adults in Seoul, Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-13, September.
    12. Marquet, Oriol & Miralles-Guasch, Carme, 2015. "Neighbourhood vitality and physical activity among the elderly: The role of walkable environments on active ageing in Barcelona, Spain," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 24-30.
    13. Steffen Andreas Schüle & Gabriele Bolte, 2015. "Interactive and Independent Associations between the Socioeconomic and Objective Built Environment on the Neighbourhood Level and Individual Health: A Systematic Review of Multilevel Studies," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-31, April.
    14. Bradley Bereitschaft, 2017. "Equity in Microscale Urban Design and Walkability: A Photographic Survey of Six Pittsburgh Streetscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-20, July.
    15. Bereitschaft, Bradley, 2020. "Gentrification and the evolution of commuting behavior within America's urban cores, 2000–2015," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    16. Jacobson, Sheldon H. & King, Douglas M. & Yuan, Rong, 2011. "A note on the relationship between obesity and driving," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 772-776, September.
    17. Hyungun Sung & Sugie Lee & Sungwon Jung, 2014. "Identifying the Relationship between the Objectively Measured Built Environment and Walking Activity in the High-Density and Transit-Oriented City, Seoul, Korea," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 41(4), pages 637-660, August.
    18. Gerlinde Grasser & Delfien Dyck & Sylvia Titze & Willibald Stronegger, 2013. "Objectively measured walkability and active transport and weight-related outcomes in adults: a systematic review," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(4), pages 615-625, August.
    19. Hao Huang, 2022. "Moderating Effects of Racial Segregation on the Associations of Cardiovascular Outcomes with Walkability in Chicago Metropolitan Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-14, October.
    20. Kimiko Tomioka & Norio Kurumatani & Keigo Saeki, 2019. "Association between housing tenure and self-rated health in Japan: Findings from a nationwide cross-sectional survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(11), pages 1-13, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:361:y:2024:i:c:s027795362400813x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.