2025/01/02 by Arup Jana · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Health disparities and outcomes #Urban Transport and Accessibility #Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/23748834.2024.2439644
openalex publication_date 2025/01/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/10
The present study explores the leading environmental, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors that explain the prevalence gap in lifestyle diseases among older adults in rural and urban India, utilizing data from the recent Longitudinal Aging Study in India Wave-1 (2017–18). The study considers a total of 30,569 males and 41,681 females for the analysis. The analysis employs bivariate and multivariate techniques, including a complementary log-log regression model, to understand the adjusted effects of various correlates on disease patterns. Furthermore, a decomposition model is applied to identify factors contributing to the higher prevalence of lifestyle diseases in urban areas compared to rural areas. In urban settings, 39% of individuals suffer from obesity or overweight issues, and 37% from cardiovascular diseases. The regression results indicate that people who spent most of their adulthood in urban areas are significantly more likely to develop diabetes (β = 1.5), CVDs (β = 1.3), obesity or overweight (β = 1.5), and high cholesterol (β = 1.2), with p-values <0.001. The decomposition analysis reveals that lifestyle and behavioral factors, along with environmental elements such as pollution and lack of green spaces, contribute to the increased disease prevalence in urban areas. The urban lifestyle influences individuals by fostering unhealthy daily habits and promoting a sedentary lifestyle, which leads to various health problems, including chronic diseases.