Perceived neighbourhood social cohesion and myocardial infarction

Abstract

Background The main strategy for alleviating heart disease has been to target individuals and encourage them to change their health behaviors. Though important, emphasis on individuals has diverted focus and responsibility away from neighborhood characteristics, which also strongly influence people’s behaviors. Although a growing body of research has repeatedly demonstrated strong associations between neighborhood characteristics and cardiovascular health, it has typically focused on negative neighborhood characteristics. Only a few studies have examined the potential health enhancing effects of positive neighborhood characteristics, such as perceived neighborhood social cohesion. Methods Using multiple logistic regression models, we tested whether higher perceived neighborhood social cohesion was associated with lower incidence of myocardial infarction. Prospective data from the Health and Retirement Study—a nationally representative panel study of American adults over the age of 50—were used to analyze 5,276 participants with no history of heart disease. Respondents were tracked for four years and analyses adjusted for relevant sociodemographic, behavioral, biological, and psychosocial factors. Results In a model that adjusted for age, gender, race, marital status, education, and total wealth, each standard deviation increase in perceived neighborhood social cohesion was associated with a 22% reduced odds of myocardial infarction (OR = 0.78, 95% CI, 0.63–0.94. The association between perceived neighborhood social cohesion and myocardial infarction remained even after adjusting for behavioral, biological, and psychosocial covariates. Conclusions Higher perceived neighborhood social cohesion may have a protective effect against myocardial infarction.

Stress and Inflammation in Coronary Artery Disease: A Review Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology-Based

“…In western countries, evidence has shown similar results. Adults in the United States without cardiovascular disease who perceived higher neighbourhood social cohesion presented a reduced likelihood of incident myocardial infarction over 4 years ( 80 ).…”

Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Preventive Healthcare Use

“…A growing body of research suggests that neighborhood characteristics impact a wide range of health behaviors and outcomes. 5–16 However, research in this area has historically emphasized the impact of negative neighborhood characteristics (e.g., violence, density of fast food restaurants, noise, traffic, poor air quality, vandalism, drug use, and physical decay) on worsening health. 17,18 Fewer studies have examined the role that positive neighborhood characteristics, such as neighborhood social cohesion, play in enhancing health.…”

“…5–10 Furthermore, a growing number of studies have linked neighborhood social cohesion with intermediate behavioral outcomes such as increased physical activity, 12–14 increased number of smoking quit attempts, and increased smoking cessation. 15,16 The theoretic orientation of this study is informed by the social ecologic model, which in turn emerged from developments in several fields, including community psychology, urban sociology, and public health.…”

Differences in neighborhood social cohesion and aerobic physical activity by Latino subgroup

“…Previous research has shown that neighborhood factors have an impact on various health outcomes and health behaviors ( Ellen et al, 2001 , Feldman and Steptoe, 2004 ). Specifically, perceived neighborhood social cohesion, which is generally defined as the solidarity and connectedness within a group of individuals ( Sampson et al, 1997 , Kandula et al, 2009 ), at high levels has been shown to be protective against adverse health outcomes such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke mortality ( Clark et al, 2011 , Kim et al, 2014 , Kim et al, 2013 , Mujahid et al, 2008 ) and to be related to positive health behaviors such as greater physical activity ( Echeverría et al, 2008 , Samuel et al, 2015 , Cleland et al, 2010 , Shelton et al, 2011 ). Further, prior research has shown that neighborhoods with low social cohesion are related to an increase in adverse health outcomes and behaviors, such as depression and smoking ( Echeverría et al, 2008 ).…”