Insights from a New Data Collection Effort into Social Determinants of Cardiovascular Health among Young Adults

Noreen Goldman, Princeton University
Norrina Bai Allen, Northwestern University
Boriana Pratt, Princeton University
Hongyan Ning, Northwestern University
Donald Lloyd-Jones, Northwestern Uni
Daniel A. Notterman, Princeton University

In this paper, we explore the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and cardiovascular health among young adults. SES is among the strongest determinants of cardiovascular disease – the leading cause of death in most countries today – as well as of racial and ethnic inequalities in cardiovascular disease in the US. We analyze a new data collection effort carried out during 2021-2023: The Cardiovascular Health Among Young Adults (FF-CHAYA) study, which is designed to examine the social determinants of cardiovascular health and subclinical cardiovascular disease among young adults, as well as potential mediation by DNA methylation. Participants, who are age 22 on average, were subsampled from a longitudinal survey of about 5000 births in large cities in the US that has conducted seven waves of interviews since 1998-2000. We propose to use several analytic techniques to identify the most important social determinants of cardiovascular health, which encompasses health-related behaviors, cardiovascular risk factors, and subclinical markers of cardiovascular health. Extensive social, economic, and environmental information for participants, their parents, and their neighborhoods is available from the seven waves of the parent survey.

Keywords: Health and Morbidity, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Longitudinal studies , Biodemography and genetics

See extended abstract.