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Americans living in rural areas are reported to have an increased risk of developing a deadly heart condition, according to a recent study.
Researchers from Massachusetts and Missouri measured the risk facing people living in rural areas compared to urban areas for six cardiac risk factors: high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and hyperlipidemia, all of which produce high levels of fats in the blood, which was published to JAMA Network (h/t the Daily Mail). The study included 27,200 adults over the age of 20 and found that 37% of the people living in rural areas had a chance of developing hypertension, 29% had a chance of developing hyperlipidemia, 41% had a chance of being obese, nearly 7% had a chance of developing congenital heart disease (CHD) and 11% had a chance of developing diabetes.
Individuals who lived in cities had a 31% chance of developing hypertension, a 27% chance of hyperlipidemia, a 30% chance of being obese, a 4% chance of having CHD and a 10% chance of being diabetic. Researchers didn't, however, find a difference between the two areas in terms of a risk for stroke.
Urban and suburbanites were, however, reported to have an increased risk of hyperlipidemia among residents between the ages of 20 and 39. Residents living in southern rural areas were reported to be the highest risk for high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and stroke, while individuals living in rural northeastern areas were reported to have the highest risk of heart disease and obesity.
"The finding that rural-urban cardiovascular health disparities were largest among young adults is alarming, particularly against the backdrop of rapidly worsening cardiovascular health in this population," the researchers wrote.