Neighborhood Psychosocial Hazards Connected To Cardiovascular Disease: Case Study In Baltimore

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 16 Jul 2008 - 16:00 PDT

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Researchers analyzed the associations between cardiovascular disease and neighborhood psychosocial hazards, such as violent crimes, abandoned buildings, and signs of incivility, that lead to an increased sense of threat and vigilance in residents within 65 contiguous neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. A total of 1,140 residents participated in this study who were aged 50 to 70 years and residents of Baltimore for at least 5 years.

After adjusting for individual heart disease risk factors, researchers found that residents in neighborhoods with scores in the highest quartile of the psychosocial hazards scale had more than 4 times higher odds of a history of myocardial infarction and more than 3 times higher odds of myocardial infarction, stroke, transient ischemic attack, or intermittent claudication compared with residents living in neighborhoods scoring in the lowest quartile.

"A new wave of research is examining the health consequences of various aspects of residential neighborhoods," the study's author said. "Daily exposure to psychosocial hazards in the neighborhood is known to activate a physiological stress response. These findings suggest new targets for intervention and policy change." [From: "Neighborhood Psychosocial Hazards and Cardiovascular Disease: The Baltimore Memory Study."].

The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly Journal of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of books and periodicals promoting sound scientific standards, action programs and public policy to enhance health.

American Journal of Public Health