Baseline characteristics of immigrants living in neighborhoods within the lowest and highest decile of walkability (n=267 529)
| Variables N (%) | Least walkable decile (D1)* (n=30 598) | Most walkable decile (D10)* (n=24 530) |
| Mean±SD age† | 39.3±10.1 | 39.1±10.1 |
| Female† | 17 832 (58.3) | 14 312 (58.3) |
| Ethnic groups‡ | ||
| South Asian | 7439 (24.3) | 1908 (7.8) |
| Sub-Saharan African and Caribbean | 3058 (10.0) | 2659 (10.8) |
| Southeast Asian | 2059 (6.7) | 3319 (13.5) |
| Latin American | 2212 (7.2) | 2434 (9.9) |
| West Asian and Arab | 3158 (10.3) | 1718 (7.0) |
| East Asian | 7007 (22.9) | 6865 (28.0) |
| Eastern European | 3861 (12.6) | 2645 (10.8) |
| Western European | 1792 (5.9) | 2972 (12.1) |
| Income quintile (Q)§ | ||
| Q1 (lowest) | 2460 (8.0) | 10 923 (44.5) |
| Q5 (highest) | 7013 (22.9) | 1803 (7.4) |
| High school education or less | 16 783 (54.8) | 15 601 (63.6) |
| Marital status | ||
| Single | 11 474 (37.5) | 11 519 (47.0) |
| Married or common-law | 18 444 (60.3) | 12 052 (49.1) |
| Immigration visa category | ||
| Family reunification | 9827 (32.1) | 7865 (32.1) |
| Economic family | 13 515 (44.2) | 9488 (38.7) |
| Economic: single applicant | 1702 (5.6) | 435 (1.8) |
| Refugee | 4470 (14.6) | 5442 (22.2) |
| Canadian language proficiency | ||
| English | 19 017 (62.2) | 12 945 (52.8) |
| Neither English nor French | 10 623 (34.7) | 10 482 (42.7) |
| <10 years since arrival to Canada | 15 613 (51.0) | 13 395 (54.6) |
| Previous hypertension | 3438 (11.2) | 2364 (9.6) |
| Mean±SD lipids | ||
| HDL | 1.42±0.38 | 1.45±0.38 |
| LDL | 3.08±0.89 | 3.05±0.91 |
| Total cholesterol | 5.10±1.02 | 5.08±1.03 |
| Triglycerides | 1.44±0.99 | 1.43±1.07 |
All variables were significant at p<0.001.
Study area: Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Ottawa, London.
*Least walkability refers to the lowest decile of walkability and most walkability refers to the highest decile of walkability.
†Demographic information (age and sex) were obtained from the Registered Persons Database.
‡Ethnic groups was derived based on country of birth and mother tongue using the IRCC-PR dataset.
§The 2006 Canadian census to produce neighborhood income quintiles adjusting for household and community size.
HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein.