Exploring Smoking Disparities and Sociodemographic Factors in a Peri-urban Landscape: A Census Tract-Level Analysis in McLennan County, Texas

This study focuses on examining smoking rates and related factors at the census tract level in McLennan County, Texas, a county that contains a mixture of urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. This study uses c ensus tract level aggregate sociodemographic, smoking, and health-related data from the American Community Survey and the PLACES Project City Health Dashboard. Geospatial analyses mapped co-occurrence of high prevalence of smoking, mental and physical distress, and co-occurrence of lower routine med ical check-ups, household income, and education. Multiple linear regression modeled associations between smoking and sociodemographic, and health-related factors. Geospatial analyses identified census tracts with co-occurring high prevalence of smoking, mental and physical distress, and co-occurren ce of lower routine medical check-ups, household income, and education level in McLennan County. Regression analyses identified that smoking rates were positively correlated with frequent physical distress (p <  0.0001) and negatively correlated with the proportion of routine medical check-ups (p <  0.0001) and the proportion living in poverty (p = 0.0002). This study found significant variations in smoking rates, physical and mental distress, medical check-ups, and sociodemographic factors between neighboring census tracts which geospatial analyses examining larger geographic units may have overlooked. Future research should focus on o btaining individual-level ...
Source: Journal of Community Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research