Pediatric obesity during COVID-19: the role of neighborhood social vulnerability and collective efficacy
Main finding · Weekly obesity prevalenceResult — go to the resultIncrease 4.9 ppAuthors' conclusion
Racially/ethnically minoritized children experienced larger obesity increases during the pandemic, especially those in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. However, the buffering effect of community collective efficacy on the disparities underscores the importance of environments in pediatric health.
Study context
- Population
- 2–17-year-olds living in Philadelphia County, well visits in a large pediatric primary care network, 2018–2022
- Participants
- 163,042 well visits
- Exposure
- Pandemic (January 2021-August 2022) vs pre-pandemic (March 2018-March 2020) obesity prevalence, moderated by neighborhood environment
- Outcome
- Weekly obesity prevalence
Methodological detailsinterrupted-time-series analysis, Poisson regression, logistic regression, electronic health records, large pediatric primary care network
- Interrupted-time-series analysis
- Poisson regression
- Logistic regression
- Electronic health records
- Large pediatric primary care network
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Increase
4.9 pp
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Obesity increase by subgroup (age, race/ethnicity, insurance type)
- Increase pronounced across all age groups, racially/ethnically minoritized groups and insurance types, except Non-Hispanic-white group (range)
- 2.0 to 6.4 pp
Obesity increase among racially/ethnically minoritized children by neighborhood social vulnerability
- Significantly larger increase in high vs low social vulnerability neighborhoods; difference
- 3.3 pp
- Adjusted for age, sex and insurance type
Obesity increase among racially/ethnically minoritized children by neighborhood collective efficacy
- Significantly larger increase in low collective efficacy neighborhoods; difference between high and low
- 2.0 pp
- Adjusted for age, sex and insurance type
Original publication
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →