Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34446047›Full record

ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2021

Tunneling a crosstown highway: a natural experiment testing the longitudinal effect on physical activity and active transport.

Nicole E H Stappers, Jasper Schipperijn, Stef P J Kremers, Marleen P M Bekker, Maria W J Jansen, Nanne K de Vries, Dave H H Van Kann

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Nicole E H StappersDepartment of Health Promotion, Maastricht University, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, P. Debyeplein 1, 6229HA, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Nicole.stappers@maastrichtuniversity.nl.ORCID 0000-0001-5475-4762
Jasper SchipperijnResearch Unit for Active Living, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Stef P J KremersDepartment of Health Promotion, Maastricht University, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, P. Debyeplein 1, 6229HA, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Marleen P M BekkerDepartment of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, CAPHRI Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Maria W J JansenDepartment of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, CAPHRI Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Nanne K de VriesDepartment of Health Promotion, Maastricht University, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, P. Debyeplein 1, 6229HA, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Dave H H Van KannDepartment of Health Promotion, Maastricht University, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, P. Debyeplein 1, 6229HA, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Maastricht University · NLFontys University of Applied Sciences · NLUniversity of Southern Denmark · DK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn the city of Maastricht in the Netherlands, a highway crossing several deprived neighborhoods was tunneled in 2016. The vacant space on top of this tunnel was redesigned and prioritized for pedestrians and cyclists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of this major infrastructural change, named the Green Carpet, on total and transport-based physical activity (PA) levels.

methodsParticipants (≥18 years) were part of one of three area-based exposure groups. The maximal exposure group lived in neighborhoods directly bordering the Green Carpet. The minimal exposure group consisted of individuals living at the other side of the city, and the no exposure group consisted of individuals living in a nearby city. Actual use of the new infrastructure was incorporated as a second measure of exposure. Data were collected before and 3-15 months after the opening of the Green Carpet. Device-based measurements were conducted to obtain PA levels and collect location data. Changes in PA over time and intervention effects were determined using linear mixed models.

resultsPA levels in the Green Carpet area increased for the maximal and minimal exposure groups, but did not lead to an increase in total or transport-based PA. For the no exposure group, transport-based MVPA decreased and transport-based SB increased. The significant interaction (time x exposure) for transport-based SB, indicated differences in trends between the no exposure and maximal exposure group (B=-3.59, 95% CI - 7.15; -0.02) and minimal exposure group (B= -4.02, 95% CI -7.85, -0.19). Trends in the results based on analyses focusing on actual use and non-use of the new infrastructure were similar to those of the area-based analyses.

conclusionsResults suggest that the Green Carpet led to more PA in this specific area, but did not increase the total volume of PA. The area-based differences might reflect the differences between users and non-users, but we should be careful when interpreting these results, due to possible interference of selective mobility bias. This paper reflects that the relationship between infrastructure and PA is not unambiguous.

trial registrationThis research was retrospectively registered at the Netherlands Trial Register ( NL8108 ).

Indexed as

Built EnvironmentExerciseQuality of LifeTransportationGeographic Information SystemsHumansMaleNetherlandsResidence Characteristicsactive transportbuilt environmentglobal positioning systems (GPS)Infrastructural changephysical activity

Identifiers

PMID34446047
PMCPMC8390260
OpenAlexW3194031728

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.