A systematic approach to analyze the social determinants of cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of human mortality worldwide. Among the many factors associated with the etiology, incidence, and evolution of such diseases; social and environmental issues constitute an important and often overlooked component. Understanding to a greater extent the scope to which such social determinants of cardiovascular diseases (SDCVD) occur as well as the connections among them would be useful for public health policy making. Here, we will explore the historical trends and associations among the main SDCVD in the published literature. Our aim will be finding meaningful relations among those that will help us to have an integrated view on this complex phenomenon by providing historical context and a relational framework. To uncover such relations, we used a data mining approach to the current literature, followed by network analysis of the interrelationships discovered. To this end, we systematically mined the PubMed/MEDLINE database for references of published studies on the subject, as outlined by the World Health Organization’s framework on social determinants of health. The analyzed structured corpus consisted in circa 1190 articles categorized by means of the Medical Subheadings (MeSH) content-descriptor. The use of data analytics techniques allowed us to find a number of non-trivial connections among SDCVDs. Such relations may be relevant to get a deeper understanding of the social and environmental issues associated with cardiovascular disease and are often overlooked by traditional literature survey approaches, such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

The Arkansas Minority Barber and Beauty Shop Health Initiative: Meeting People Where They Are

“…About 46.8% of Black people and 47.0% of Hispanic people are obese, and both populations are more likely than non-Hispanic White people to be diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes and be physically inactive (8,28). Systematic, environmental, and structural factors also contribute to the high risk and mortality rates of CVD among Black and Hispanic people (29). Racism, poverty, and low socioeconomic status are associated with increased CVD risk and mortality rates among Black people and Hispanic people (5,30).…”

“…Systematic, environmental, and structural factors also contribute to the high risk and mortality rates of CVD among Black and Hispanic people ( 29 ). Racism, poverty, and low socioeconomic status are associated with increased CVD risk and mortality rates among Black people and Hispanic people ( 5 , 30 ). Because of inequities worsened by the social determinants of health among many members of racial/ethnic minority populations, it is essential to provide targeted educational and health-promoting interventions to these populations.…”

Production of Vegetables and Artichokes Is Associated with Lower Cardiovascular Mortality: An Ecological Study

“…CVD is related to many risks and protecting factors, including socio-economic and personal factors, such as lifestyle, social class, diet, stress, air pollution, health, genetic conditions, and health care systems [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. In our study, Borriana presented high all-cause, CVD, and CED mortalities; this situation may be related with the elevated prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity reported there in a 2006 publication [ 37 ].…”

Association between serum S100A1 level and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events score in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome

“…Cardiovascular disease is a serious threat to human health. 11 – 13 Patients with NSTE-ACS, a common cardiovascular emergency, account for 75% of patients with ACS. The main pathological mechanism underlying NSTE-ACS involves rupture of a coronary artery plaque, which triggers activation of the coagulation system, promotes platelet aggregation and thrombosis concurrent with coronary artery spasms and microvascular emboli, and aggravates myocardial ischemia and hypoxia.…”