Project description:The spatial segregation of the US population by socioeconomic position and especially race/ethnicity suggests that the social contexts or "neighborhoods" in which people live may substantially contribute to social disparities in hypertension. The Chicago Community Adult Health Study did face-to-face interviews, including direct measurement of blood pressure, with a representative probability sample of adults in Chicago. These data were used to estimate socioeconomic and racial-ethnic disparities in the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension, and to analyze how these disparities are related to the areas in which people live. Hypertension was significantly negatively associated with neighborhood affluence/gentrification, and adjustments for context eliminated the highly significant disparity between blacks/African-Americans and whites, and reduced the significant educational disparity by 10-15% to borderline statistical significance. Awareness of hypertension was significantly higher in more disadvantaged neighborhoods and in places with higher concentrations of blacks (and lower concentrations of Hispanics and immigrants). Adjustment for context completely eliminated blacks' greater awareness, but slightly accentuated the lesser awareness of Hispanics and the greater levels of awareness among the less educated. There was no consistent evidence of either social disparities in or contextual associations with treatment of hypertension, given awareness. Among those on medication, blacks were only 40-50% as likely as whites to have their hypertension controlled, but context played little or no role in either the level of or disparities in control of hypertension. In sum, residential contexts potentially play a large role in accounting for racial/ethnic and, to a lesser degree, socioeconomic disparities in hypertension prevalence and, in a different way, awareness, but not in treatment or control of diagnosed hypertension.
Project description:Multiple health behaviors could have greater impact on chronic diseases than single behaviors, but correlates of behavioral clusters are relatively understudied. Using data from NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study (initiated in 1995) for 324,522 participants from the U.S. (age 50-71), we conducted exploratory factor analysis to identify clusters of adherence to eight cancer prevention behaviors. Poisson regressions examined associations between cluster scores and neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, measured with census block group (1) poverty and (2) low education. Four clusters emerged: Movement (adequate physical activity/less TV); Abstinence (never smoked/less alcohol); Weight control (healthy body mass index/high fruits and vegetables); and Other (adequate sleep/receiving cancer screenings). Scores on all clusters were lower for participants in neighborhoods with the highest poverty (most deprived quintile versus least deprived: relative risk [RR] = 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.94-0.96) for Movement, 0.98 (95% CI = 0.97-0.99) for Abstinence, 0.94 (95% CI = 0.92-0.95) for Weight control, and 0.94 (95% CI = 0.93-0.95) for Other; all p < 0.001). Scores on three clusters were lower for participants in neighborhoods with the lowest education (RR = 0.88 (95% CI = 0.87-0.89) for Movement, 0.89 (95% CI = 0.88-0.90) for Weight control, and 0.90 (95% CI = 0.89-0.91) for Other; all p < .001). Health behaviors among older adults demonstrated four clusters. Neighborhood deprivation was associated with lower scores on clusters, suggesting that interventions to reduce concentrated deprivation may be an efficient approach for improving multiple behaviors simultaneously.
Project description:Background:Hypertension, which is the single most important risk factor for CVDs, is increasing at an alarming rate in most developing countries. This study estimated the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension among young and middle-aged adults in rural Morogoro, Tanzania. Furthermore, it explored factors associated with both prevalence and awareness of hypertension. Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted as part of the cluster randomized controlled study of community health workers (CHWs) interventions for reduction of blood pressure in a randomly selected sample of young and middle-aged population in rural Morogoro. Sociodemographics, lifestyle-related factors, history of diagnosis, and treatment for hypertension were collected using a questionnaire adopted from the STEPS survey tool. Blood pressure, height, and weight were measured at home following standard procedures. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess determinants of hypertension and awareness. Result:The prevalence of hypertension was 29.3% (95% CI: 27.7-31.0). Among individuals with hypertension, only 34.3% were aware of their hypertension status. Only around one-third (35.4%) of those who were aware of their hypertension status were currently on antihypertensive medication. Hypertension control was attained in only 29.9% among those on medications. Older age (p < 0.001), use of raw table salt (p < 0.001), and being overweight/obese (p < 0.001) were associated with hypertension. Predictors of awareness of hypertension status were older age, being a female, higher socioeconomic status, use of raw table salt, a history of diabetes, and overweight/obesity (all p < 0.001). Alcohol drinking was associated with low awareness for hypertension status (p < 0.001). Conclusion:There is high prevalence of hypertension with low rates of awareness, treatment, and control among young and middle-aged adults in rural Tanzania. Community-level health promotion and screening campaigns for hypertension and other CVD risk factors should be intensified.
Project description:ImportanceIsolated systolic hypertension (ISH) is increasing in prevalence among young and middle-aged adults. However, most studies of ISH are limited to older individuals, and a substantial knowledge gap exists regarding younger adults with ISH.ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence, awareness, and characteristics of ISH among younger and middle-aged adults in China.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional study was performed as part of the China Patient-Centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Million Persons Project, which enrolled 3.1 million community residents aged 35 to 75 years from all of the 31 provinces in China between December 15, 2014, and May 15, 2019. The present analysis included only participants younger than 50 years. Data were analyzed from May to November 2019.Main outcomes and measuresPrevalence and awareness of ISH (defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher and diastolic blood pressure of less than 90 mm Hg) and individual characteristics of participants with ISH.ResultsAmong 898 929 participants aged 35 to 49 years, the mean (SD) age was 43.8 (3.9) years; 548 657 participants (61.0%) were women, and 235 138 participants (26.2%) had hypertension. Of those with hypertension, 62 819 participants (26.7%; 95% CI, 26.5%-26.9%) had ISH (mean [SD] age, 45.0 [3.5] years; 41 417 women [65.9%]), and 54 463 of those with ISH (86.7%; 95% CI, 86.4%-87.0%) had not received treatment. The prevalence of ISH was higher among individuals who were older, were female, were farmers, resided in the eastern region of China, and had an educational level of primary school or lower. Women and older individuals were more likely to have ISH than to be normotensive or to have other hypertension subtypes. Participants who were obese, currently used alcohol, had diabetes, and experienced previous cardiovascular events were more likely to have other types of hypertension and less likely to have normotension than to have ISH. Among the 54 463 participants with ISH who had not received treatment, only 3682 individuals (6.8%; 95% CI, 6.6%-7.0%) were aware of having hypertension, and awareness rates remained low even among those with systolic blood pressure of 160 mm Hg or higher (7135 individuals [13.1%; 95% CI, 12.4%-13.9%]).Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, ISH was identified in 1 of 4 young and middle-aged adults with hypertension in China, most of whom remained unaware of having hypertension. These results highlight the increasing need for better guidance regarding the management of ISH in this population.
Project description:Neighborhood greenness has been linked to better cardiovascular health, but little is known about its association with biomarkers related to cardiovascular risk. Adverse neighborhood conditions, such as disorder and socioeconomic disadvantage, are associated with higher cardiovascular biomarker levels, but these relationships may differ in neighborhoods with more greenness. This study evaluated cross-sectional associations of validated measures of neighborhood greenness, disorder, and socioeconomic disadvantage with cardiovascular biomarkers in middle-aged and older adults living in Baltimore City. The sample included 500 adults, aged 57-79 years, enrolled in the Baltimore Memory Study and living in Baltimore City during 2009-2010. Multi-level log-gamma regressions examined associations between the three neighborhood characteristics and seven cardiovascular biomarkers. Models additionally evaluated the effect modification by neighborhood greenness on associations of neighborhood disorder and socioeconomic disadvantage with the biomarkers. Adjusting for covariates and neighborhood greenness, greater neighborhood disorder was associated with higher C-reactive protein (exp β = 1.21, SE = 0.11, p = 0.035) and serum amyloid A (exp β = 1.28, SE = 0.12, p = 0.008), while greater neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with higher tumor necrosis factor alpha (exp β = 1.24, SE = 0.12, p = 0.019). Higher neighborhood greenness was associated with lower soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, accounting for disorder (exp β = 0.70, SE = 0.10, p = 0.010) and socioeconomic disadvantage (exp β = 0.73, SE = 0.10, p = 0.025). There was no evidence of effect modification among neighborhood characteristics. The findings suggest that neighborhood effects on cardiovascular health may be mediated through cardiovascular biomarker levels, and that socioeconomic disadvantage, disorder, and greenness may each be important features of neighborhoods.
Project description:ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the association between fragmented sleep and the prevalence of hypertension in middle-aged and older individuals.MethodsThis study included 5804 participants with an average age of 63.1±11.2 years from the Sleep Heart Health Study. Fragmented sleep parameters including arousal index in total sleep (ArI-Total), rapid eye movement sleep (ArI-REM), non-rapid eye movement sleep (ArI-NREM), fragmented sleep index (SFI), sleep efficiency (SE) and wake after sleep onset (WASO) were monitored using polysomnography. The information on hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥90 mmHg or under antihypertensive treatment, was collected at baseline. We conducted multivariable logistic regression to explore the cross-sectional association between fragmented sleep and the prevalence of hypertension.ResultsAfter adjusting for potential confounders, fragmented sleep parameters (per 5-unit change) including SE (odds ratio [OR] 0.904; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.877-0.932; P < 0.001), WASO (OR 1.019; 95% CI 1.012-1.027; P < 0.001), ArI-Total (OR, 1.036; 95% CI, 1.005-1.068; P = 0.024), and ArI-NREM (OR 1.032; 95% CI 1.004-1.062; P = 0.027) were significantly associated with the prevalence of hypertension. In addition, ArI-Total, ArI-NREM, and ArI-REM were positively correlated with both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure.ConclusionWe found a high prevalence of hypertension among middle-aged and older individuals with fragmented sleep. The causal association between fragmented sleep and hypertension warrants further investigation.
Project description:IntroductionCardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of premature death globally and a major contributor to decreasing quality of life. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of social, behavioral, and physiological determinants of CVD and their different patterns among middle-aged and older adults.MethodsWe used harmonized data from 6 nationally representative individual-level longitudinal studies across 25 countries. We restricted the age to ≥50 years and defined cases as a self-reported history of CVD. The exposure variables were the demographic status (age and sex), socioeconomic position (education level, employment, and household income level), social connections (marital status and family size), behavioral factors (smoking, alcohol drinking, and frequency of moderate to vigorous physical activity), and physiological risk factors (obesity, presence of hypertension, and presence of diabetes). Mixed logistic regression models were fitted to investigate the associations, and dominance analysis was conducted to examine the relative contributions.ResultsIn total, 413,203 observations were included in the final analysis, with the CVD prevalence ranging from 10.4% in Mexico to 28.8% in the United States. Physiological risk factors were the main driver of CVD prevalence with the highest dominance proportion, which was higher in developing countries (China, 57.5%; Mexico, 72.8%) than in developed regions (United States, England, 10 European countries, and South Korea). Socioeconomic position and behavioral factors also highly contributed but were less significant in developing countries than in developed regions. The relative contribution of socioeconomic position ranged from 9.4% in Mexico to 23.4% in the United States, and that of behavioral factors ranged from 5.7% in Mexico to 26.1% in England.ConclusionThe present study demonstrated the different patterns of determinant contributions to CVD prevalence across developing and developed countries. With the challenges produced by different risk factors, the implementation of tailored prevention and control strategies will likely narrow disparities in the CVD prevalence by promoting health management and enhancing the capacity of health systems across different countries.
Project description:IntroductionRacial disparities in dementia incidence exist, but less is known about their presence and drivers among middle-aged adults.MethodsWe used time-to-event analysis among a sample of 4378 respondents (age 40-59 years at baseline) drawn from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES III) with administrative linkage-spanning the years 1988-2014-to evaluate potential mediating pathways through socioeconomic status (SES), lifestyle, and health-related characteristics.ResultsCompared with Non-Hispanic White (NHW) adults, Non-White adults had a higher incidence of AD-specific (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21, 3.49) and all-cause dementia (HR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.36, 2.98). Diet, smoking, and physical activity were among characteristics on the pathway between race/ethnicity, SES, and dementia, with health-mediating effects of smoking and physical activity on dementia risk.DiscussionWe identified several pathways that may generate racial disparities in incident all-cause dementia among middle-aged adults. No direct effect of race was observed. More studies are needed to corroborate our findings in comparable populations.
Project description:BackgroundThis study aims to better understand differing pain experiences across U.S. racial/ethnic subgroups by estimating racial-ethnic disparities in both pain intensity and domain-specific pain-related interference. To address this issue, we use a nationally representative sample of non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic adults ages 50+ who report recently experiencing pain.MethodsUsing data from the 2010 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 684), we conducted a series of multivariate analyses to assess possible racial/ethnic disparities in pain intensity and 7 domains of pain interference, controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables and other health problems.ResultsBlack and Hispanic participants reported higher pain intensity than White participants after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES) and other health conditions. Both Black and Hispanic individuals reported more domain-specific pain interference in bivariate analyses. In multivariate analyses, Black (vs White) participants reported significantly higher levels of pain interference with family-home responsibilities, occupation, sexual behavior, and daily self-care. We did not find significant Hispanic-White differences in the 7 pain interference domains, nor did we find Black-White differences in 3 domains (recreation, social activities, and essential activities).ConclusionsOur findings highlight the need for using multidimensional measures of pain when assessing for possible pain disparities with respect to race/ethnicity. Future studies on pain interventions should consider contextualizing the pain experience across different racial subgroups to help pain patients with diverse needs, with the ultimate goal of reducing racial/ethnic disparities in pain.
Project description:IntroductionImproving hypertension control is a national priority. Electronic health record data have the potential to augment traditional surveillance systems. This study aimed to assess hypertension prevalence and control at the state level using a previously established electronic health record-based phenotype for hypertension.MethodsAdult patients (N=11,031,368) were included from the IQVIA ambulatory electronic medical record-U.S. 2019 data set. IQVIA ambulatory electronic medical record comprises electronic health records from >100,000 providers and includes patients from every U.S. state and Washington DC. Authors compared hypertension prevalence and control estimates against those from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2019. Results were age-standardized and stratified by state and sociodemographic characteristics. Statistical analyses were conducted in 2022-2023.ResultsIQVIA ambulatory electronic medical record-U.S. patients had a median age of 55 years, and 56.7% were women. Overall age-standardized hypertension prevalence was higher in IQVIA ambulatory electronic medical record-U.S. (35.0%) than in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (29.7%), however, state-level geographic patterns were similar, with the highest burden in the South and Appalachia. Similar patterns were also observed by sociodemographic characteristics in both data sets: hypertension prevalence was higher in older age groups (than younger), men (than women), and Black patients (than other races). Hypertension control varied widely across states: among states with >1% data coverage, control rates were lowest in Nevada (51.1%), Washington DC (52.0%), and Mississippi (55.2%); highest in Kansas (73.4%), New Jersey (72.3%), and Iowa (71.9%).ConclusionsThis study provided the first-ever estimates of hypertension control for all states and Washington DC. Electronic health record-based surveillance could support hypertension prevention and control efforts at the state level.