A recent study highlights that smoking, lack of exercise, alcohol use, and obesity are significant contributors to why individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have a higher risk of dying from heart disease.
Coronary artery disease, also known as ischemic heart disease (IHD), is the leading cause of death in the United States, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This condition arises when plaque builds up in blood vessels, hindering blood flow to the heart and throughout the body.
The research found that the listed risk factors accounted for over half of the health disparities in heart disease mortality across different income levels. Interestingly, these factors impacted men and women differently: for men, they explained 74% of the risk, with smoking alone contributing to 29% and physical activity accounting for 27%. In contrast, women’s risk was influenced less by these factors, explaining 61% of their disparity in heart disease risk.
For women, physical activity was the most significant risk factor (26%), while smoking and alcohol consumption had moderate impacts (16% and 14%, respectively).
Lead researcher Dr. Zhu noted, “Given that unhealthy habits often coexist among those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, our findings underscore the need for targeted public health policies to address these behaviors collectively.”
The study analyzed data from over half a million U.S. adults using the National Health Interview Survey from 1997 to 2018 and compared it to information from the National Death Index in 2019. They found a troubling connection: lower education levels were linked to a significantly higher risk of heart disease mortality.
Dr. Zhu stated, “This is the first nationwide longitudinal study to explore how behavioral risk factors contribute to socioeconomic disparities in ischemic heart disease mortality in the U.S.”
Reference
Zhu, Y., Llamosas-Falcón, L., Kerr, W. C., Rehm, J., Probst, C. (2024). Behavioral risk factors and socioeconomic inequalities in ischemic heart disease mortality in the United States: A causal mediation analysis using record linkage data, PLOS Medicine 21(9): e1004455. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004455