BACKGROUND Neighborhood environments have been regularly associated with the weight status. Although the evidence is mostly limited to adults residing in western urban settings, the weight status of older adults living in rural areas is also assumed to be significantly affected by their neighborhood environments. This study aimed to identify environmental attributes specific to rural areas that could affect the risk of longitudinal weight gain among older adults (≥ 65 years) in Japan. METHODS We examined five environmental attributes, i.e., land slope, public transportation accessibility, residential density, intersection density, and the availability of parks and recreational centers, measured by the geographic information system. Our analysis was based on 714 subjects participated in Shimane Community-based Healthcare Research and Education study in 2012 and 2015. Multinomial logistic regression model was conducted to examine the association between each neighborhood environmental attribute and weight change status (gain, loss and unchanged). RESULTS We observed a significant increase in the risk of weight gain as the steepness of the neighborhood land slope increased. There was no significant association between other environmental attributes and risk of weight gain as well as weight loss among older adults. CONCLUSION Living in hilly neighborhoods was associated with increased risk of weight gain among rural Japanese older adults. Future research should consider region-specific environmental attributes when investigating their effect on older adults' weight status.

中文翻译：

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在日本农村，丘陵社区与体重增加的风险增加相关：一项为期3年的随访研究。

背景技术邻域环境已经与体重状态有规律地关联。尽管证据主要限于居住在西部城市环境中的成年人，但也假定生活在农村地区的老年人的体重状况受其邻里环境的影响很大。这项研究旨在确定特定于农村地区的环境属性，这些环境属性可能会影响日本老年人（≥65岁）的纵向体重增加的风险。方法我们通过地理信息系统检查了五个环境属性，即坡度，公共交通的可达性，住宅密度，十字路口密度以及公园和娱乐中心的可用性。我们的分析基于2012年和2015年参与Shimane基于社区的医疗研究和教育研究的714名受试者。进行了多项Logistic回归模型以检验每个邻里环境属性与体重变化状态（增，减和不变）之间的关联。结果我们发现，随着邻里坡度的增加，体重增加的风险显着增加。在其他环境属性与体重增加风险以及老年人体重减轻之间没有显着关联。结论生活在丘陵地区与日本农村老年人体重增加的风险增加有关。未来的研究在调查其对老年人体重状况的影响时应考虑特定地区的环境属性。