Abstract
Neighborhood Characteristics and Incident Stroke in US older adults: Evaluation in Two Nationwide Cohorts
Innovation in aging, v 9(Supplement_2)
01 Dec 2025
Abstract
Research linking adverse neighborhood context with stroke disparities may reflect publication bias for chance associations. We compared results from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS, n = 25,125, aged ≥ 45 years, 41% Non-Hispanic Black, 55% Stroke Belt; 2003-2020) study to the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, n = 13,197, aged > 50 years, 15% Non-Hispanic Black, 18% Stroke Belt; 2004-2020). We estimated Cox models predicting stroke for 51 American Community Survey (ACS) census tract variables, evaluating inter-cohort consistency of main, race- and region-stratified estimates. Follow-up in REGARDS (median=12.1 years; IQR: 6.5, 14.9) was similar to HRS (median=12.3; IQR: 8.0, 15.8). Cumulative stroke incidence was lower in REGARDS (5.8%) than HRS (13.9%). Twenty ACS variables had associations with incident stroke that differed by at least log(0.05) between cohorts. The percentage of vacant housing units for sale was associated with incident stroke among Stroke Belt participants in REGARDS (HR per SD: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.84, 1.02) and in HRS (HR per SD: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.73, 1.03); these associations were not observed among participants in the rest of the US in REGARDS (HR per SD: 1.02; 95% 0.96, 1.09, p for region interaction: 0.058) or HRS (HR per SD: 1.02; 95% 0.96, 1.09, p for region interaction: 0.078). None of the five other regional differences or any of the 11 Black-White differences replicated across cohorts. Inverse associations of vacancies with stroke replicated across two national studies, potentially implicating attractive housing markets as beneficial for older adult CVD health.
Metrics
1 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Neighborhood Characteristics and Incident Stroke in US older adults: Evaluation in Two Nationwide Cohorts
- Creators
- Kendra Sims - Boston UniversityTorsten Neilands - University of California, San FranciscoJulene Johnson - University of California, San FranciscoLoni Tabb - Drexel UniversityMonika Safford - Cornell UniversitySuzanne Judd - University of Alabama at BirminghamKirsten Bibbins-Domingo - American Medical AssociationM Maria Glymour - Boston University
- Publication Details
- Innovation in aging, v 9(Supplement_2)
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Number of pages
- 1
- Resource Type
- Abstract
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Urban Health Collaborative; Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001652979700001
- Other Identifier
- 991022150106004721