Researchers report that behavioral risk factors such as smoking and physical inactivity can explain a majority of the disparities in ischemic heart disease risk among people of different socioeconomic status (as defined by educational attainment). In men, the combined behavior of smoking and physical inactivity explained more than half (56%) of the observed disparities in cardiovascular disease mortality. Other important factors were alcohol intake and BMI. Credit: Anne-Lise Parijs, (www.in-graphidi.com), PLOS, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Lower socioeconomic status is associated with higher mortality rates from coronary artery disease compared to higher socioeconomic status, and more than half of the differences can be explained by four unhealthy behaviors. Dr. Yachen Zhu of the Alcohol Research Group, USA, and Dr. Charlotte Probst of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada, report these findings in a new study published September 17 in the open access journal PLOS medicine.
Coronary artery disease, also known as coronary artery disease or ischemic heart disease, occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart cannot supply enough oxygen-rich blood due to plaque buildup, and is a leading cause of death in the US. The condition poses a greater risk to people of lower socioeconomic status, but previous studies have reported conflicting results as to whether certain unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking, are primarily responsible for the observed disparities in deaths from the disease.
In the new study, researchers used data from 524,035 people aged 25 and older, whose mortality status was recorded in the National Death Index and who answered the National Health Interview Survey on demographics and health behavior.
The team used education as the main indicator of socioeconomic status and examined four behavioral risk factors: smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and BMI. The four factors together explained 74% of the differences in the risk of mortality due to coronary heart disease in men belonging to different socio-economic levels, and 61% in women.
The researchers conclude that their results highlight the need for effective public health policies and interventions that address each of these behaviors – both individually and together – because unhealthy behaviors are common among individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds. They urge public health campaigns to increase awareness of heart health with messaging and outreach efforts tailored to male and female audiences.
The authors add: “These efforts are critical to reducing the socioeconomic disparities in deaths from coronary artery disease in the US”
More information:
Zhu Y, Llamosas-Falcón L, Kerr WC, Rehm J, Probst C, Behavioral risk factors and socioeconomic disparities in ischemic heart disease mortality in the United States: a causal mediation analysis using record linkage data, PLoS medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004455
Quote: Lower socioeconomic status associated with higher risk of coronary heart disease deaths due to unhealthy behavior (2024, September 17), retrieved September 18, 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-socioeconomic-status -higher-coronary-artery.html
This document is copyrighted. Except for fair dealing purposes for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.