Built environment and its association with self-rated health in Brazilian elderly: National Health Survey 2013

Abstract

Abstract The present study aims to investigate the association between the built environment and positive self-rated health among older adults from Brazilian capitals. It is a cross-sectional population-based study, which collected data from the National Health Survey 2013 and the Observatório das Metrópoles. The outcome was a positive self-rated health. The built environment was investigated by the Urban Wellbeing Index (IBEU, in Portuguese). Analyses were performed by multilevel logistic regression (95%CI). Among the 4,643 elderly individuals evaluated in this study, 51.5% reported a positive self-rated health (95%CI: 50.0-52.9). Elderly people living in capitals with higher IBEU terciles were more likely to have a positive self-rated health (OR: 1.42; 95%CI: 1.08-1.86 (T2); OR: 1.78; 95%CI: 1.35-2.33 (T3)). As for the dimensions of the IBEU, the following were associated with the outcome: urban infrastructure (OR: 1.56; 95%CI: 1.13-2.16), urban environmental conditions (OR: 1.49; 95%CI: 1.10-2.04), urban housing conditions (OR: 1.45; 95%CI: 1.05-1.99), and urban collective services (OR: 1.72; 95%CI: 1.30-2.27). A positive association was found between better conditions of the built environment and one’s perception of health, regardless of individual characteristics. Promoting changes in the built environment can be effective in improving health levels, thus favoring healthy aging.