Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Housing insecurity has been associated with adverse health outcomes including CVD and more prevalent in rural areas. Northern New England (NNE) (Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine) has a high percentage of rural areas, making them vulnerable. We sought to explore the association between housing insecurity and age-adjusted prevalence of CVD risk factors and CVD in NNE. Methods: Housing insecurity, age-adjusted prevalence of CVD risk factors and CVD were obtained from CDC PLACES: Local Data for Better Health (2024 release). Simple linear regression was used to examine the bivariate relationship between housing insecurity and CVD risk factors and CVD. Adjusted R 2 as a measure of strength of association and a p < 0.05 considered as statistically significant. Data was analyzed on Excel Analysis ToolPak. Results: Figure 1 shows across the counties in NNE, housing insecurity shows a significant positive association with prevalence of CVD risk factors and heart disease. Conclusion: Our study findings indicate that county-level housing insecurity across NNE was positively associated with higher prevalence of CVD risk factors and CVD. Future CVD preventive strategies should incorporate measures to address housing insecurity in addition to CVD risk factors and CVD as well.
Veeranna et al. (Tue,) studied this question.