Longitudinal Association Between Walkability and Physical Activity in Twins

Glen E Duncan; Ally R Avery; Matthew J D Pilgrim; Ofer Amram; Stephen J Mooney; Andrew G Rundle

doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2025.107950

Longitudinal Association Between Walkability and Physical Activity in Twins

Am J Prev Med. 2025 Jun 16;69(3):107950. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2025.107950. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Glen E Duncan¹, Ally R Avery², Matthew J D Pilgrim³, Ofer Amram⁴, Stephen J Mooney⁵, Andrew G Rundle⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, Washington. Electronic address: glen.duncan@wsu.edu.
² Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, Washington.
³ Department of Psychology, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
⁴ Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, Washington; Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York.

PMID: 40532794
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2025.107950

Abstract

Introduction: Research has focused on the built environment (e.g., neighborhood walkability) that supports or hinders physical activity because it is potentially modifiable. This study investigated the associations between changes in neighborhood walkability and changes in physical activity in an adult twin cohort.

Methods: Longitudinal data (2009-2020) from 7,439 identical and fraternal twins comprising 2,800 complete pairs from a community-based registry were analyzed. Participants were free of mobility limitations and resided at their current residential location for at least 1 year. A series of phenotypic (nongenetically informed) models were used to test the effect of walkability change on change in physical activity. These were re-estimated in a series of quasi-causal models by leveraging the genetically informed nature of the twin design to test the effect of walkability change on change in physical activity while controlling for genetic and shared environmental confounds.

Results: Change in neighborhood walkability was associated with change in neighborhood walking but not in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, which held after controlling for genetic and shared environmental confounding, plus standard demographic covariates, length of follow-up, and moving status. A 1-unit increased change in neighborhood walkability was associated with a 2.7-minute increased change in neighborhood walking per week, independent of familial confounds and covariates. Moving to a neighborhood that is 5.5 units greater in walkability could increase neighborhood walking by about 15 minutes per week.

Conclusions: This study supports a quasi-causal relationship between changes in neighborhood walkability and changes in neighborhood walking, extending previous cross-sectional findings in the same twin cohort by establishing temporality.