Tsiampalis Thomas, Faka Antigoni, Psaltopoulou Theodora, Pitsavos Christos, Chalkias Christos, Panagiotakos Demosthenes B
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education, Harokopio University, 70 El. Venizelou Ave., 17671, Athens, Kallithea, Greece.
Department of Geography, School of Environment, Geography and Applied Economics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece.
Hormones (Athens). 2021 Dec;20(4):723-734. doi: 10.1007/s42000-021-00293-3. Epub 2021 Apr 16.
The built and food environments are widely acknowledged to play an important role in defining human health by influencing, among others, behaviors such as nutrition habits and physical activities. The aim of this study was to identify the spatial variability of the sex-specific prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its environmental determinants in the Athens metropolitan area.
Data on the prevalence of the MetS were provided by the ATTICA epidemiological study for 2749 participants, with complete data for geographical identification (1375 women [44 years old {SD = 14 years}] and 1374 men [45 years old {SD = 13 years}]), while socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental characteristics were provided by official national and international databases.
Approximately 20% of the people residing in the study area were diagnosed with MetS, with its prevalence being almost two times higher in men compared to women. Areas more extensively covered by green urban spaces and sports facilities were shown to have a lower prevalence of MetS, while greater density and availability of supermarkets and street markets were inversely related to MetS prevalence in both sexes. In addition, the present analysis revealed that the beneficial role of the built environment's characteristics on MetS prevalence was significantly stronger in the male population, while the preventive effect of the food environment's characteristics was almost 1.5 times stronger in the female population CONCLUSION: Although individualized prevention and treatment approaches are necessary to decrease the burden of MetS, environmental modifications that promote healthy behaviors represent an essential health approach.
建筑环境和食物环境被广泛认为在定义人类健康方面发挥着重要作用，其中包括影响营养习惯和体育活动等行为。本研究的目的是确定雅典大都市区代谢综合征（MetS）的性别特异性患病率及其环境决定因素的空间变异性。
MetS患病率的数据由阿提卡流行病学研究提供，涉及2749名参与者，这些参与者具有完整的地理识别数据（1375名女性[44岁{标准差=14岁}]和1374名男性[45岁{标准差=13岁}]），而社会经济、人口和环境特征由官方国家和国际数据库提供。
居住在研究区域的人群中约20%被诊断患有MetS，男性患病率几乎是女性的两倍。城市绿地和体育设施覆盖范围更广的地区MetS患病率较低，而超市和街市的更高密度和可及性与男女MetS患病率呈负相关。此外，本分析表明，建筑环境特征对MetS患病率的有益作用在男性人群中显著更强，而食物环境特征的预防作用在女性人群中几乎强1.5倍。结论：虽然需要个性化的预防和治疗方法来减轻MetS的负担，但促进健康行为的环境改善是一种重要的健康方法。
