Associations of Neighborhood Environments and Socioeconomic Status With Subclinical Atherosclerosis

BACKGROUND: A limited understanding exists on the associations of neighborhood environment with subclinical atherosclerosis and its progression. PURPOSE: The purpose of this integrative review was to explore associations of neighborhood environments and socioeconomic status (SES) with subclinical atherosclerosis and its long-term progression. RESULTS: Three themes were identified: environmental exposure affects the natural history of atherosclerosis, neighborhood characteristics are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis, and individual SES is associated with development and progression of subclinical atherosclerosis more so than neighborhood SES. Some variations in results were noted based on the vascular site examined. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Disadvantaged neighborhoods and low SES are associated with greater subclinical atherosclerosis. Inconsistencies in a few studies seemed to be related to lack of coronary artery progression among the relatively young adults. This suggests further examination is needed of the contextual associations of neighborhood and SES with markers of generalized atherosclerosis, such as carotid intima-media thickness.