title: Perception of neighborhood crime and drugs increases cardiometabolic risk in Chilean adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Studies report an association between neighborhood risk and both obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMR) among adolescents. Here we describe the effect of perceived neighborhood risk on adiposity and CMR among Chilean adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 523 low- to middle-income Chilean adolescents. We assessed neighborhood risk in early adolescence, adiposity in childhood and in early and later adolescence, and blood pressure and fasting glucose in later adolescence. Neighborhood risk profiles were estimated using latent profile analysis (LPA) and based on reported perceptions of crime and drug sales/use. Using linear and logistic regression, we examined the effect of neighborhood risk on adiposity and CMR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age in early and later adolescence was 14 and 17 years, respectively. Participants were 52% male, with a mean BMI z-score of .67, and 8% met criteria for metabolic syndrome. LPA identified two neighborhood profiles: 61% low risk and 39% high risk. In later adolescence, being in the high risk profile predicted a higher BMI z-score, waist-to-height ratio, and fat mass index (p < .05). Adolescents in the high risk profile had three times greater odds of meeting criteria for metabolic syndrome (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.5, 5.8) compared with those in the low risk profile.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that there are physiological responses to living in a neighborhood perceived as "risky," which may contribute to obesity and CMR even in adolescence. For Chilean neighborhoods with high crime and drugs, targeted public health interventions and policies for youth could be beneficial.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Division of Child Development and Community Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California. Electronic address: suzanna.martinez@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Suzanna M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Division of Child Development and Community Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California.
authors.forename: Estela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Delva
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA), University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burrows
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA), University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Betsy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lozoff
authors.affiliation: Division of Child Development and Community Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California; Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gahagan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012938:Social Perception; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Adolescents; Cardiometabolic risk; Chile; Crime; Latent profile analysis (LPA); Neighborhood; Socioeconomic status