Neighborhood Environmental Burden and Cardiovascular Health in the US

Importance: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US. However, little is known about the association between cumulative environmental burden and cardiovascular health across US neighborhoods. Objective: To evaluate the association of neighborhood-level environmental burden with prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and diseases, overall and by levels of social vulnerability. Design, Settings, and Participants: This was a national cross-sectional study of 71 659 US Census tracts. Environmental burden (EBI) and social vulnerability indices from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry were linked to the 2020 CDC PLACES data set. Data were analyzed from March to October 2023. Exposures: The EBI, a measure of cumulative environmental burden encompassing 5 domains (air pollution, hazardous or toxic sites, built environment, transportation infrastructure, and water pollution). Main Outcomes and Measures: Neighborhood-level prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, and obesity) and cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease and stroke). Results: Across the US, neighborhoods with the highest environmental burden (top EBI quartile) were more likely than those with the lowest environmental burden (bottom EBI quartile) to be urban (16 626 92.7% vs 13 414 75.4%), in the Midwest (5191 28.9% vs 2782 15.6%), have greater median (IQR) social vulnerability scores (0.64 0.36-0.85 vs 0.42 0.20-0.65), and have higher proportions of adults in racial or ethnic minority groups (median IQR, 34% 12-73 vs 12% 5-30). After adjustment, neighborhoods with the highest environmental burden had significantly higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors than those with the lowest burden, including hypertension (mean SD, 32.83% 7.99 vs 32.14% 6.99; adjusted difference, 0.84%; 95% CI, 0.71-0.98), diabetes (mean SD, 12.19% 4.33 vs 10.68% 3.27; adjusted difference, 0.62%; 95% CI, 0.53-0.70), and obesity (mean SD, 33.57% 7.62 vs 30.86% 6.15; adjusted difference, 0.77%; 95% CI, 0.60-0.94). Similarly, neighborhoods with the highest environmental burden had significantly higher rates of coronary heart disease (mean SD, 6.66% 2.15 vs 6.82% 2.41; adjusted difference, 0.28%; 95% CI, 0.22-0.33) and stroke (mean SD, 3.65% 1.47 vs 3.31% 1.12; adjusted difference, 0.19%; 95% CI, 0.15-0.22). Results were consistent after matching highest and lowest environmentally burdened neighborhoods geospatially and based on other covariates. The associations between environmental burden quartiles and cardiovascular risk factors and diseases were most pronounced among socially vulnerable neighborhoods. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study of US neighborhoods, cumulative environmental burden was associated with higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors and diseases, although absolute differences were small. The strongest associations were observed in socially vulnerable neighborhoods. Whether initiatives that address poor environmental conditions will improve cardiovascular health requires additional prospective investigations.