Unfavourable Neighbourhood Conditions in Your 20s Linked to More Heart Calcification by Midlife

People exposed to more unfavourable neighbourhood social conditions in their 20s were more likely to develop coronary artery calcification, a marker of early cardiovascular disease, by midlife, according to a study by Northwestern Medicine researchers published in Nature Communications. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death both in the United States and worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers created a new index that combines several neighbourhood social determinants of health at once, including socioeconomic conditions, access to food, opportunities for physical activity and local crime rates.

Using data from the long-running CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study, the team compared scores on this index with coronary artery calcification, an established indicator of early cardiovascular disease measured repeatedly over time. Participants who experienced more adverse neighbourhood social conditions in early adulthood faced a higher risk of developing the condition later in life, and the association was stronger among Black participants than white participants.

Senior author Lifang Hou, professor of Preventive Medicine and of Pediatrics at Northwestern, said the findings show neighbourhood social determinants are linked to measurable biological changes such as coronary artery calcification, not just abstract concepts.

The researchers plan to investigate whether the same neighbourhood factors are linked to other cardiovascular outcomes, including heart attacks and heart failure, and to identify modifiable neighbourhood factors that could become targets for intervention.