title: The cross-sectional and longitudinal association between perceived neighborhood walkability characteristics and depressive symptoms in older Latinos: the "¡Caminemos!" study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between perceived walkability-related neighborhood characteristics (e.g., traffic safety) and depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older Latino adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used baseline, 12-month, and 24-month in-person interview data collected from Latinos aged ≥ 60 years participating in an exercise intervention at 27 senior centers (N = 570).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In cross-sectional analyses, lower perceived neighborhood crime, indicative of greater neighborhood walkability, was associated with a lower odds of elevated symptoms of depression (odds ratio [OR] = 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.82, 0.996]; p = .04) after adjusting for demographic characteristics, linguistic acculturation, and medical comorbidities. Associations between Neighborhood Environment Walkability scales and incident depressive symptoms at 12- and/or 24-months were not statistically significant, but the point estimate for crime safety was consistent with cross-sectional findings (OR = 0.83; 95% CI = [0.64, 1.07]; p = .16), suggesting a protective effect for lower perceived neighborhood crime.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lower perceived neighborhood crime is associated with reduced presence of elevated symptoms of depression in older Latinos.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA rherna17@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: Rosalba
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Kiarri N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Kershaw
authors.affiliation: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Prohaska
authors.affiliation: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Pin-Chieh
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: David X
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Marquez
authors.affiliation: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
authors.forename: Catherine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Sarkisian
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012449:Safety; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Hispanics/Latinos; depressive symptoms; neighborhood/environment; older adults