Top Things to Know: Importance of Housing and Cardiovascular Health and Well-Being
Published: July 15, 2020
- Housing is a prominent social determinant of cardiovascular (CV) health and well-being and should be considered when evaluating prevention efforts to reduce and eliminate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities.
- Homeless adults may have higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality rates due to the inadequacy of CVD risk factor (e.g., obesity, diabetes, and hypertension) diagnosis and treatment.
- For those who confront housing insecurity (or difficulty paying for rent or mortgage), the prevalence of CVD risk factors may be higher than those with more secure housing.
- Poor housing quality has been associated with numerous physical and mental health conditions. Residential crowding is associated with poor health outcomes among both children and adults, but little is known of the impact of poor housing quality on CV health.
- Improving housing thermal quality by reducing mold, dampness and producing a comfortable temperature have been shown to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
- Higher levels of residential segregation were associated with incident CVD in Black adults, and with obesity among Black women but not Black men.
- Black people living in gentrifying neighborhoods reported worse self-rated health than their Black counterparts living in neighborhoods that were not gentrifying.
- One study reported that residential areas at higher risk for foreclosure had higher proportions of hypertension and hypercholesterolemia than locations at lower risk for foreclosure.
- Studies have consistently shown that individuals residing in economically distressed neighborhoods (e.g., high percent poverty and unemployment) have a higher incidence of CVD risk factors, CVD events (coronary heart disease, stroke), and CVD mortality.
- The density of healthy and unhealthy food retail, walkability, and other urban design features define obesogenic environments. These features have been consistently associated with diet, physical activity, BMI/obesity, elevated blood pressure, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
Citation
Sims M, Kershaw KN, Breathett K, Jackson EA, Lewis LM, Mujahid MS, Suglia SF; on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research. Importance of housing and cardiovascular health and well-being: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association [published online ahead of print July 15, 2020]. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. doi: 10.1161/HCQ.0000000000000089.