LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Adults living in rural areas of the United States have a 19 percent higher risk of developing heart failure compared to their urban counterparts, according to a large observational study supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
The study, publish Wednesday in JAMA Cardiology, shows Black men living in rural areas had the highest risk of all -- a 34 percent higher risk of heart failure compared to urban-dwelling Black men.
Researchers from the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Vanderbilt University Medical Center analyzed data from the Southern Community Cohort Study, a long-term health study of adults in the southeastern United States.
They compared the rates of new onset heart failure among rural and urban residents in 12 states. At the end of the study period, the researchers found that living in rural America was associated with an increased risk of heart failure among both women and Black men.
"This study makes it clear that we need tools or interventions specifically designed to prevent heart failure in rural populations, particularly among Black men living in these areas," said Véronique L. Roger, the study's corresponding author. ■