Abstract
BACKGROUND: Population-level interventions that promote healthy aging through modifications to the built environment are likely to be more effective than individual-level interventions. Few studies have examined the influence of multiple built environment factors on measures of healthy aging. OBJECTIVES: We leveraged detailed data from a population-based cohort study to examine how multiple aspects of the built environment were associated with grip strength, a well-accepted measure of age-related health status. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 15,068 participants of the British Columbia Generations Project. Geospatial measures of air pollution (PM(2.5), SO(2), and NO(2)), greenness, light-at-night, and walkability were linked to participant residential postal codes. Grip strength was measured using a digital hydraulic hand dynamometer. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds of having sex-specific clinically weak measures of grip strength in association with each built environment factor. The other built environment factors, demographics, and lifestyle factors were evaluated as confounders. RESULTS: Increased SO(2) and greenness were statistically significantly associated with increased and decreased odds of having clinically weak grip strength, respectively, after adjusting for demographic, lifestyle, and other built environment factors. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that built environment factors are compelling targets for improving age-related health, though the mechanisms underlying associations with these factors, particularly greenness, remain uncertain.