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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1443416
This article is part of the Research Topic Multi-scale Urban Built Environment and Human Health View all 3 articles

Hypertension Risk Pathways in Urban Built Environment: The Case of Yuhui District, Bengbu City, China

Provisionally accepted
Kang K. Gu Kang K. Gu 1Yao Jing Yao Jing 1*Jingjing Tang Jingjing Tang 1*Xianjie Jia Xianjie Jia 2*Xinmu Zhang Xinmu Zhang 1*Beichen Wang Beichen Wang 1*
  • 1 Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, China
  • 2 Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The rapid development of urbanization has brought about changes in residents' living environment and behavior, which makes residents face health challenges such as hypertension. The improvement of the built-up environment in the community contributes to the construction of a healthy city, promotes the active life of residents, and prevents and relieves hypertension. However, there is little research on the relationship between the built environment of community and hypertension. This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the relationship among community built environment, health behavior and hypertension grade of residents in Yuhui District of Bengbu City. This study is based on data from the 2022 Health Survey of Residents in 21 communities. To investigate the impact of the community built environment on residents' hypertension and the underlying mechanisms, regression and structural equation modelling were employed. The results show that the built environment of urban communities has a significant impact on residents' hypertension. The presence of high densities of supermarkets, convenience stores, parks and plazas, in conjunction with low densities of clinics and hospitals, has been identified as a significant risk factor for the development of high blood pressure among residents. Nevertheless, the adoption of healthy behaviours, including regular walking, physical activity and a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, can play an important role in reducing the risk of hypertension. The findings of this study indicate that enhancements to the built environment in urban neighborhoods can contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of hypertension among residents. Furthermore, the implementation of efficacious health interventions in urban settings can facilitate the alteration of residents' health behaviours and enhance their overall health status.

    Keywords: built environment, Hypertension, Health Behavior, Impact path, mediating effects

    Received: 04 Jun 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gu, Jing, Tang, Jia, Zhang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yao Jing, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, China
    Jingjing Tang, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, China
    Xianjie Jia, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, 233030, Anhui Province, China
    Xinmu Zhang, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, China
    Beichen Wang, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.