1. Association of Environmental Injustice and Cardiovascular Diseases and Risk Factors in the United States.
- Author
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Khadke S, Kumar A, Al-Kindi S, Rajagopalan S, Kong Y, Nasir K, Ahmad J, Adamkiewicz G, Delaney S, Nohria A, Dani SS, and Ganatra S
- Subjects
- United States epidemiology, Humans, Risk Factors, Cardiovascular Diseases epidemiology, Cardiovascular Diseases prevention & control, Coronary Artery Disease, Hypertension, Stroke epidemiology
- Abstract
Background: While the impacts of social and environmental exposure on cardiovascular risks are often reported individually, the combined effect is poorly understood., Methods and Results: Using the 2022 Environmental Justice Index, socio-environmental justice index and environmental burden module ranks of census tracts were divided into quartiles (quartile 1, the least vulnerable census tracts; quartile 4, the most vulnerable census tracts). Age-adjusted rate ratios (RRs) of coronary artery disease, strokes, and various health measures reported in the Prevention Population-Level Analysis and Community Estimates data were compared between quartiles using multivariable Poisson regression. The quartile 4 Environmental Justice Index was associated with a higher rate of coronary artery disease (RR, 1.684 [95% CI, 1.660-1.708]) and stroke (RR, 2.112 [95% CI, 2.078-2.147]) compared with the quartile 1 Environmental Justice Index. Similarly, coronary artery disease 1.057 [95% CI,1.043-1.0716] and stroke (RR, 1.118 [95% CI, 1.102-1.135]) were significantly higher in the quartile 4 than in the quartile 1 environmental burden module. Similar results were observed for chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, lack of health insurance, sleep <7 hours per night, no leisure time physical activity, and impaired mental and physical health >14 days., Conclusions: The prevalence of CVD and its risk factors is highly associated with increased social and environmental adversities, and environmental exposure plays an important role independent of social factors.
- Published
- 2024
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