Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, March 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Living in a poor and unhealthy neighborhood can nearly double your risk of heart disease and stroke, a new study says.

The findings show that factors that contribute to poor neighborhoods, including air and water pollution, toxic locations, fewer parks, and more traffic, all play an important role in heart health. .

So are social and economic factors such as low income, inadequate education, unemployment, and lack of access to the internet and health care.

These environmental and social factors have a “double whammy” on the heart health of people confined to poor communities, says Lahey Hospital and Medical Center’s Cardio-Oncology Program and South Asian Heart. said senior scientist Dr. Sarju Ganatra, director of the metabolic program.in Burlington, Massachusetts

“We were surprised to see the close links and complex interactions of social and environmental factors on health outcomes,” Ganatra said.

Even after controlling for social factors such as low income and education, “environmental factors play an important and independent role in determining a variety of heart diseases and other related health outcomes,” Ganatra said. added.

For the study, researchers evaluated more than 71,000 U.S. census tracts using the Environmental Justice Index, a database that combines demographic, environmental, and health data collected by multiple federal agencies.

Results show that people living in areas plagued by harmful environmental factors are approximately 1.6 times more likely to have clogged arteries and more than twice as likely to have a stroke than those living in the best areas. It was shown in

These vulnerable regions had higher risk factors for heart disease, with twice the rate of type 2 diabetes, 1.8 times higher rates of kidney disease, and 1.5 times higher rates of hypertension and obesity.

Results show that about 30% of young adults ages 18 to 44 live in one of these unhealthy neighborhoods, as do 21% of black adults and most Hispanic adults.

Because these social and environmental health risks are intertwined, supporting these disadvantaged communities will require a multifaceted approach, the researchers said.

The researchers concluded that cities need to increase access to quality health care, as well as tackle pollution, poverty, employment, education and affordable housing.

“Our goal is to help the medical community better inform patients about the environmental factors they encounter every day,” Ganatra said in a journal news release. “Patients will gain the ability to reduce their exposure to harmful environmental conditions, including exposure to harmful chemicals and air pollutants, to minimize harm and reduce health risks.”

Source: American Heart Association, News Release, March 27, 2024

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