Neighborhood-level socioeconomic factors in low-income areas may significantly predict heart failure risk beyond individual health factors and socioeconomic status, according to new research in Circulation:Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.
The study compared census tract data on socioeconomic deprivation – a clustering of neighborhood-level variables of wealth, education, occupation and housing patterns – and heart failure rates among 27,078 middle-aged whites and African-Americans from the Southeastern states.