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Impacts of Socioeconomic Status on Inequities in Cardiovascular Disease and Risk Factors

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Public Health Statistics and Risk Assessment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 10350

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Caryn Bell

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Guest Editor

Department of African American Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20724, USA
Interests: race; African Americans; cardiovascular disease; socioeconomic status; inequities; place

Dr. Quenette L. Walton

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Guest Editor

Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston, Houston, USA
Interests: mental health disparities; social determinants of mental health; the Black middle class; wellness and well-being; intersectionality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death globally and stark disparities in mortality rates and incidence are observed by particular demographic groups. For example, in the U.S., the CVD death rate among non-Hispanic blacks in the U.S. is 33% higher than the national average, and racial disparities in risk factors like diabetes, hypertension, and obesity have persisted over time. Gender differences in many societies exist, as do geographic differences in CVD mortality rates and the prevalence of risk factors.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a major contributor to these disparities, which impacts CVD in complex ways across contexts. SES intersects with several risk factors and determinants of CVD to produce health disparities. SES is considered a fundamental cause of health, and, because of that, a variety of pathways link SES with CVD and CVD risk factors through myriad determinants like place, stressors psychosocial factors, and contextual factors to CVD and risk factors. Further exploration is needed to understand how SES shapes these related factors leading to inequities in CVD and risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Further, studies to develop a nuanced understanding of how CVD and SES intersect with comorbidities like mental health outcomes/mental illnesses like depression, ways in which CVD impacts communities that experience structural, socioeconomic (dis)advantages, or of CVD in understudied populations are of interest.

For this Special Issue, we invite the submission of papers on how SES can impact inequities in CVD and related risk factors. Inequities can be based on gender, race, ethnicity, geography, and other social vulnerabilities. We welcome studies that use a variety of analytical approaches ranging from spatial statistical methods to qualitative data analyses, and studies with social justice implications. We welcome contributions across fields including public health, social work, social science, medicine, and law.

Assistant Professor Caryn Bell
Assistant Professor Quenette L. Walton
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Cardiovascular disease
Socioeconomic status
Inequities
Disparities
Public health

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 346 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating Racial Differences in Allostatic Load by Educational Attainment among Non-Hispanic Black and White Men

by Danielle R. Gilmore, Tzitzi Morán Carreño, Hossein Zare, Justin X. Moore, Charles R. Rogers, Ellen Brooks, Ethan Petersen, Carson Kennedy and Roland J. Thorpe, Jr.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5486; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095486 - 30 Apr 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1960

Abstract

Education continues to be a key factor contributing to increased access to critical life-improving opportunities and has been found to be protective against Allostatic Load (AL). The purpose of this study was to assess AL among Non-Hispanic (NH) White and NH Black men with the same level of education. We used 1999–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) data with an analytical sample of 6472 men (1842 NH Black and 4630 NH White), and nine biomarkers to measure AL, controlling for various demographic and health-related factors. NH Black men had a higher AL score than NH White men (39.1%, 842 vs. 37.7%, 1,975). Racial disparities in AL between NH Black and NH White men who have a college degree or above (PR: 1.49, CI: [1.24–1.80]) were observed. Models posited similar AL differences at every other level of education, although these were not statistically significant. The findings reveal that socioeconomic returns to education and the societal protective mechanisms associated with education vary greatly between White and Black men. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Socioeconomic Status on Inequities in Cardiovascular Disease and Risk Factors)

11 pages, 341 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Garden Access, Race and Vegetable Acquisition among U.S. Adults: Findings from a National Survey

by Joelle N. Robinson-Oghogho and Roland J. Thorpe, Jr.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(22), 12059; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212059 - 17 Nov 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2076

Abstract

With the majority of U.S. adults not meeting recommended vegetable intakes and well-documented racial and ethnic disparities in fruit and vegetable consumption, various approaches to increase vegetable consumption have been implemented. Gardening is one approach that has been associated with increased vegetable consumption in various subpopulations; however, limited national data exist examining this relationship. Since vegetable acquisition is a necessary antecedent to increased vegetable consumption, this study examines if garden access is associated with vegetable acquisition among adults in a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. Data come from the National Food Acquisition and Purchasing Survey (FAPS), a survey of 4826 US households. Descriptive analysis and modified Poisson regressions were performed to examine associations between household garden access and vegetable acquisition amongst the total population and by race. Results indicate that for foods for at-home consumption, respondents with their own garden had a 30% greater prevalence (PR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.64) of acquiring enough vegetables to meet USDA recommendations compared to respondents in households without access to any gardens. Among Black respondents, those with access to their own garden had over two times increased prevalence (PR: 2.35, 95% CI: 1.10, 5.01) of acquiring enough vegetables to meet recommended consumption amounts, compared to Black respondents without any access to a garden. No relationships between garden access and vegetable acquisition were observed for White or Asian respondents. This information may contribute to the body of evidence on strategies for increasing vegetable consumption among U.S. adults. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Socioeconomic Status on Inequities in Cardiovascular Disease and Risk Factors)

18 pages, 998 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Are the Relationships between Psychosocial Community Characteristics and Dietary Behaviors in a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Urban Population in Los Angeles County?

by Brenda Robles, Tony Kuo and Courtney S. Thomas Tobin

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(18), 9868; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189868 - 19 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2493

Abstract

To address existing gaps in public health practice, we used data from a 2014 internet panel survey of 954 Los Angeles County adults to investigate the relationships between psychosocial community characteristics (PCCs) and two key chronic disease-related dietary behaviors: fruit and vegetable (F+V) and soda consumption. Negative binomial regression models estimated the associations between ‘neighborhood risks and resources’ and ‘sense of community’ factors for each dietary outcome of interest. While high perceived neighborhood violence (p < 0.001) and perceived community-level collective efficacy (p < 0.001) were associated with higher F+V consumption, no PCCs were directly associated with soda consumption overall. However, moderation analyses by race/ethnicity showed a more varied pattern. High perceived violence was associated with lower F+V consumption among White and Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (ANHOPI) groups (p < 0.01). Inadequate park access and walking as the primary mode of transportation to the grocery store were associated with higher soda consumption among the ANHOPI group only (p < 0.05). Study findings suggest that current and future chronic disease prevention efforts should consider how social and psychological dynamics of communities influence dietary behaviors, especially among racially/ethnically diverse groups in urban settings. Intervention design and implementation planning could benefit from and be optimized based on these considerations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Socioeconomic Status on Inequities in Cardiovascular Disease and Risk Factors)

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10 pages, 462 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Role of Leisure Time Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Simultaneously on the Income-Overweight/Obesity Relationship

by Layton Reesor-Oyer, Rosenda Murillo, Emily C. LaVoy, Daniel P. O’Connor, Yu Liu and Daphne C. Hernandez

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(6), 3127; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063127 - 18 Mar 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2869

Abstract

In the United States, overweight/obesity is more prevalent among those with low-income; higher income is related to greater leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and sedentary behavior (SB), which are inversely related to overweight/obesity. This study aimed to evaluate the role of LTPA and SB simultaneously in the income-overweight/obesity relationship. Cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007–2014) were utilized (n = 10,348 non-older adults (aged 20–59 years)). A multiple mediator structural equation model was conducted to evaluate the indirect effects from income to overweight/obesity (Body Mass Index ≥25 kg/m²) through LTPA and SB simultaneously, controlling for confounding variables, including diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption. As expected, greater income was negatively associated with overweight/obesity. Income indirectly influenced overweight/obesity through LTPA (Indirect effect: B = −0.005; CI = −0.01, −0.003), and through SB (Indirect effect: B = 0.008; CI = 0.005, 0.01), in opposing directions. The direct effect from income to overweight/obesity remained statistically significant. LTPA partially accounted for the negative relationship between income and overweight/obesity; SB reduced the strength of the negative relationship between income and overweight/obesity. Targeted behavior approaches for weight management may be beneficial. Increasing LTPA among adults with lower income and decreasing SB among adults with higher income may provide some overweight/obesity protection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Socioeconomic Status on Inequities in Cardiovascular Disease and Risk Factors)

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