The association of multiple built environment factors with a clinical measure of grip strength.

Background: Population-level interventions that promote healthy aging through modifications to the built environment are likely to be more effective than individual-level interventions. Few studies have examined the influence of multiple built environment factors on measures of healthy aging.

Objectives: We leveraged detailed data from a population-based cohort study to examine how multiple aspects of the built environment were associated with grip strength, a well-accepted measure of age-related health status.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 15,068 participants of the British Columbia Generations Project. Geospatial measures of air pollution (PM_2.5, SO₂, and NO₂), greenness, light-at-night, and walkability were linked to participant residential postal codes. Grip strength was measured using a digital hydraulic hand dynamometer. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds of having sex-specific clinically weak measures of grip strength in association with each built environment factor. The other built environment factors, demographics, and lifestyle factors were evaluated as confounders.

Results: Increased SO₂ and greenness were statistically significantly associated with increased and decreased odds of having clinically weak grip strength, respectively, after adjusting for demographic, lifestyle, and other built environment factors.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that built environment factors are compelling targets for improving age-related health, though the mechanisms underlying associations with these factors, particularly greenness, remain uncertain.