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Police-Recorded Crime and Perceived Stress among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE)

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Abstract

While stress has been linked to poor health outcomes, little is known about the impact of objective measures of neighborhood crime on stress in patients with chronic disease. Using the Kaiser Permanente Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE), we examined associations between police-recorded crime (2005–2007) and stress (Perceived Stress Scale-4) in four large Northern California cities (Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Jose). We performed stratified analysis by gender and race/ethnicity using generalized linear regression models. In our study sample (n = 3188, mean age 59, range 30–77), 10 % reported high stress. In adjusted analyses, higher neighborhood all crimes rate was associated with modest increase in high stress for African-American (OR = 1.10; 95 % CI 1.02–1.22) and Latina women (OR = 1.36; 95 % CI 1.10–1.67) and property crime showed similar associations with stress for these groups of women. Visible crime was associated with stress only for Latina women (OR = 1.43; 95 % CI 1.14–1.78). We found no association between crime and stress among men or other racial/ethnic groups of women. High crime levels may disproportionately impact health among certain subpopulations. Studies using additional measures of stress are necessary to differentiate the health impact of crime-related stress from other forms of stressors among individuals living with diabetes.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01 DK065664-01-A1 and R01 DK080744). Dr. Mujahid is supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (K01 HL115494).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, University of California Berkeley, 101 Haviland Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7358, USA

    Aracely Tamayo & Mahasin S. Mujahid

  2. Berkeley School of Public Health, Division of Public Health Nutrition, University of California, 207B University Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Barbara Laraia

  3. Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, 2000 Broadway, Oakland, CA, 94612, USA

    E. Margaret Warton, Howard H. Moffet & Andrew J. Karter

  4. Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, 130 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114, USA

    Samuel D. Blanchard & Maggi Kelly

  5. San Francisco Center for Health and Community, University of California, 3333 California St. Laurel Heights, San Francisco, CA, 94118, USA

    Nancy Adler

  6. San Francisco Center for Vulnerable Populations at San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, 1001 Portero Ave, SFGH 10, San Francisco, CA, 94110, USA

    Dean Schillinger

Authors
  1. Aracely Tamayo
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  2. Mahasin S. Mujahid
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  3. Barbara Laraia
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  4. E. Margaret Warton
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  6. Maggi Kelly
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  7. Howard H. Moffet
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  8. Nancy Adler
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  9. Dean Schillinger
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  10. Andrew J. Karter
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Correspondence to Mahasin S. Mujahid.

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Tamayo, A., Mujahid, M.S., Laraia, B. et al. Police-Recorded Crime and Perceived Stress among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE). J Urban Health 93, 745–757 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-016-0069-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-016-0069-2

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