Abstract
The number one leading cause of death in 2017 for Americans was cardiovascular disease (CVD), and health disparities can exacerbate risks. This study evaluates the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) (n = 437,436) to estimate population risks for behavioral, socio-economic, psychological, and biological factors. A general linear model with a quasi-binomial link function indicated higher risks for the following groups: smokers (odds ratio, OR = 0.688), individuals with higher body mass index scores (OR = 1.023), persons unable to work (OR = 2.683), individuals with depression (OR = 1.505), workers who missed more days due to mental issues (OR = 1.12), the elderly, males (OR = 1.954), those in race categories “indigenous Americans, Alaskan non-Hispanics”, “Black Hispanics,” or “other, non-Hispanic,” and individuals with lower income. Surprisingly, increased consumption of alcohol was not found to be a risk factor as in other studies. Additional study of alcohol risk factors is needed. Further, Black non-Hispanics were associated with lower rates of CVD/MI (myocardial infarction), a finding that is supported by recent evidence of more unhealthy behaviors in other races. The results of this study highlight 2018 CVD/MI disparities based on the BRFSS and suggest the need for additional policy interventions including education and providing increased access to health care for the disadvantaged. The principles of beneficence and justice require policy interventions such as these.
Highlights
The number one leading cause of death in 2017 for Americans was cardiovascular disease.Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally, taking about 17.9 million lives yearly [1]
This study examines socio-economic, psychological, biological, and behavioral factors that are associated with CVD using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System of the Centers for Disease
2% of observations were missing from the complete dataset, so simple imputation was used
Summary
The number one leading cause of death in 2017 for Americans was cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally, taking about 17.9 million lives yearly [1]. Heart disease took the lives of 647,457 people in 2017, and the projected numbers are assumed to increase with the coming years [2]. Due to the prevalence of heart disease around the world, measures should be taken to identify individuals with CVD risk factors, those risk factors that might be modified to reduce mortality. Included in that grouping are behaviors such as smoking, body mass index, lack of physical activity, and excessive alcohol consumption [4]. Behavioral risk factors are often related to socio-economic, psychological, and biological factors, so these factors must be investigated as well
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