Researchers from Northwestern Medicine used data from the long-running CARDIA study, which tracks the development of cardiovascular disease and aging, according to ScienceDaily.
The researchers combined several types of information about participants’ neighborhoods into a single index.
This included economic and social conditions, access to food, opportunities for physical activity and crime levels.
They then compared the data with measurements of calcium in participants’ coronary arteries.
Also read: Your sleep quality could be raising your heart disease risk
According to Northwestern Medicine, the analysis also took individual factors into account.
Calcium can be a warning sign
Calcium in the coronary arteries can be an early sign of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers therefore examined whether participants’ surroundings as young adults could be linked to coronary artery calcium later in life.
The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
Also read: A new headset can treat your depression without medication
The researchers now plan to investigate whether the same factors can also be linked to conditions including heart attacks and heart failure.
They will also examine whether changes in a neighborhood over time can affect the risk.
Where you live may have lasting effects
The results showed that people who lived in areas with more adverse social conditions as young adults had a higher risk of developing coronary artery calcium later in life.
The association was stronger among Black participants than among White participants.
Also read: These vaccines and health checks are relevant after 50
The study therefore suggests that the area where people live in their 20s may be linked to measurable signs of cardiovascular disease several decades later.
Also read: Drinking coffee every day may cut your liver disease risk by nearly half
This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.