Commentary: Estimating and understanding area health effects

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Abstract
In this issue of the Journal, Breeze et al. report that living in a deprived area is associated with poor quality of life in a large population-based sample of older adults living in the UK.1 Their paper adds to a large body of work reporting associations between area socio-economic characteristics or area deprivation and a variety of health outcomes.2 The focus on the elderly population is especially interesting because, as Breeze et al. note, there are reasons to believe that area characteristics may be especially relevant to the health and well-being of elderly people who are likely to spend more time in their local areas and rely on their local areas for services and social interactions.