Wight et al. Respond to 'Considerations about Multilevel Thinking'

摘要

Galea and Ahern (1) have provided an insightful commentary on our article (2), raising several noteworthy observations pertaining to the current state of and future directions for multilevel epidemiologic research. We concur that theory-driven multilevel studies are needed, along with explication of the mechanisms that link levels of influence on health, particularly since these mechanisms may be more readily amenable to intervention than structural determinants of health. For example, in our analyses of the association between neighborhood education and late-life cognition (2), we recommend promoting educational attainment in the general population in disadvantaged neighborhoods because it may prove cognitively beneficial to aging residents of these neighborhoods. # Dollars 1001N200306448Dollars 1200