Environmental Disparities in the Objectively and Longitudinally Measured Local Food Environments of Urban Older Adults

Background: Valid measures of local food environments are needed to quantify disparities in the availability of healthy foods and estimate the effect of built environments on health.  Limited measures are available to describe the fluctuation of food retail environments over time, and how food environments are utilized by older adults.Purpose: This study measured neighborhood environments of older adults living in Brooklyn, NY, using an objective, prospective audit tool in order to document variations in the availability of food retailers and other neighborhood resources over a two-year period. Additionally, neighborhood utilization patterns, which may mitigate exposure to the built environment, were assessed using surveys of participating older adults. Methods: Older adults enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health of Seniors and the Built Environment study in New York City (NYC) between 2009-2011 completed surveys in person at baseline and two years later (n=1,318).  Auditors documented food retailers located on NYC streets within 300-meters of each participant’s home, within six months of baseline surveys, and two years later.  Results: Most participants walked to food stores, purchased food less than 0.5 mile from home, and consumed meals at home. Changes to food retail environments were observed by race and ethnicity, with decreases in bodegas (b= -1.28, standard error (SE) = 0.18) and liquor stores (b= -0.19, SE 0.05) in the buffer zones of white participants compared with that of black participants. Increases in supermarkets were observed in both white (b= 0.27, SE 0.07) and Latino buffer zones (b= 0.28, SE 0.08).Conclusions: Changes in food environments varied by areas where Black, White, and Hispanic participants lived.   Understanding the variation of exposure to local food environments over time, and how the exposures may be mediated by behaviors, will lead to more precision in exposure assignment within this area of environmental and health science.