Geographic Variation in Heart Failure Mortality and Its Association With Hypertension, Diabetes, and Behavioral-Related Risk Factors in 1,723 Counties of the United States
Longjian Liu, Xiaoyan Yin, Ming Chen, Hong Jia, Howard J. Eisen and Albert Hofman
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY V4.0, Open
Abstract
Life Sciences & Biomedicine Public, Environmental & Occupational Health Science & Technology
Background and objectives: Studies that examined geographic variation in heart failure (HF) and its association with risk factors at county and state levels were limited. This study aimed to test a hypothesis that HF mortality is disproportionately distributed across the United States, and this variation is significantly associated with the county- and state-level prevalence of high blood pressure (HBP), diabetes, obesity and physical inactivity.
Methods: Data from 1,723 counties in 51 states (including District of Columbia as a state) on the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity, physical inactivity, HBP and diabetes in 2010, and age-adjusted HF mortality in 2013-2015 are examined. Geographic variations in risk factors and HF mortality are analyzed using spatial autocorrelation analysis and mapped using Geographic Information System techniques. The associations between county-level HF mortality and risk factors (level 1) are examined using multilevel hierarchical regression models, taking into consideration of their variations accounted for by states (level 2).
Results: There are significant variations in HF mortality, ranging from the lowest 11.7 (the state of Vermont) to highest 85.0 (Mississippi) per 100,000 population among the 51 states. Age-adjusted prevalence of obesity, physical inactivity, HBP, and diabetes are positively and significantly associated with HF mortality. Multilevel analysis indicates that county-level HF mortality rates remain significantly associated with diabetes (beta = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.7-3.7, p < 0.0001), HBP (beta = 3.6, 2.1-5.0, p < 0.0001), obesity (beta = 0.9, 0.6-1.3, p < 0.0001), and physical inactivity (beta = 1.2, 0.8-1.5, p < 0.0001) after controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and poverty index. After further controlling obesity and physical inactivity in diabetes and HBP models, the effects of diabetes (beta = 1.0, -0.3 to 2.3, p = 0.12) and HBP (beta = 2.4, 0.9-3.9, p = 0.003) on HF mortality had a considerable reduction.
Conclusion: HF mortality disproportionately affects the counties and states across the nation. The geographic variations in HF morality are significantly explained by the variations in the prevalence of obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes, and HBP.
Geographic Variation in Heart Failure Mortality and Its Association With Hypertension, Diabetes, and Behavioral-Related Risk Factors in 1,723 Counties of the United States
Creators
Longjian Liu - Drexel University
Xiaoyan Yin - University of Pennsylvania
Ming Chen - First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University
Hong Jia - Southwest Medical University
Howard J. Eisen - Drexel University
Albert Hofman - Harvard University
Publication Details
Frontiers in public health, v 6, pp 132-132
Publisher
Frontiers Media Sa
Number of pages
10
Resource Type
Journal article
Language
English
Academic Unit
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Web of Science ID
WOS:000437155000001
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85069835941
Other Identifier
991019168438104721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Research Home Page
Browse by research and academic units
Learn about the ETD submission process at Drexel
Learn about the Libraries’ research data management services