Food deserts and cardiovascular health among young adults

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:sec id="S1368980020001536_as1" sec-type="other"> <jats:title>Objective:</jats:title> <jats:p>This study assesses the association between living in a food desert and cardiovascular health risk among young adults in the USA, as well as evaluates whether personal and area socioeconomic status moderates this relationship.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="S1368980020001536_as2" sec-type="other"> <jats:title>Design:</jats:title> <jats:p>A cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from Wave I (1993–1994) and Wave IV (2008) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Ordinary least squares regression models assessing the association between living in a food desert and cardiovascular health were performed. Mediation and moderation analyses assessed the degree to which this association was conditioned by area and personal socioeconomic status.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="S1368980020001536_as3" sec-type="other"> <jats:title>Setting:</jats:title> <jats:p>Sample of respondents living in urban census tracts in the USA in 2008.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="S1368980020001536_as4" sec-type="other"> <jats:title>Participants:</jats:title> <jats:p>Young adults (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> 8896) aged 24–34 years.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="S1368980020001536_as5" sec-type="other"> <jats:title>Results:</jats:title> <jats:p>Net of covariates living in a food desert had a statistically significant association with cardiovascular health risk (range 0–14) (<jats:italic>β</jats:italic> = 0·048, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0·01). This association was partially mediated by area and personal socioeconomic status. Further analyses demonstrate that the adverse association between living in a food desert and cardiovascular health is concentrated among low socioeconomic status respondents.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="S1368980020001536_as6" sec-type="other"> <jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title> <jats:p>The findings from this study suggest a complex interplay between food deserts and economic conditions for the cardiovascular health of young adults. Developing interventions that aim to improve health behaviour among lower-income populations may yield benefits for preventing the development of cardiovascular health problems.</jats:p> </jats:sec>

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