Cardiometabolic Risk Development and Management in Changing Neighborhoods: the Jackson Heart Study

Project Summary
It is well established that African Americans have higher levels of cardiometabolic risk factors than whites and
are less likely to achieve hypertension and diabetes control. The neighborhood environment is a critical
structural determinant of these disparities given the disproportionate exposure of African Americans to
deleterious residential environments. In light of this, we propose using the JHS, a state of the art epidemiologic
cohort of African Americans (n=5,306), combined with rigorously assessed neighborhood contextual factors to
examine longitudinal associations between features of the physical, social, and local healthcare environment
and cardiometabolic risk factor development and management over a 20-year period. Understanding the role
of changing neighborhood environments in shaping cardiometabolic risk factor development and management
is critical to improving causal inferences and developing appropriate policies and interventions designed to
mitigate the burden of cardiometabolic risk factors in this high-risk population. Furthermore, understanding
these changes in the unique context of the South, a region of the country with the highest burden of chronic
disease and urban areas characterized by high proportions of African Americans, low population density, and
geographically dispersed amenities, will allow us to better understand how neighborhood processes operate in
this setting and better tailor ongoing prevention efforts. The primary goals of the proposed study are to: 1)
compile a multilevel database of time-varying neighborhood contextual data (i.e. physical, social, and
healthcare characteristics) that can be linked to the Jackson Heart Study (JHS)— a unique, state-of-the art
cohort study of African Americans and 2) to examine longitudinal associations of changes in neighborhood
contextual factors with HTN and DBM development and management. Aim 1 will examine longitudinal
associations between time-varying physical and social neighborhood features and cardiometabolic risk factors
among African American adults. Aim 2 will examine longitudinal associations between time-varying
neighborhood physical and social features and HTN and DBM control. Aim 3 will examine associations
between local access to primary care and cardiometabolic risk factor development and management and
whether features of the physical and social environment modify associations. This project will build upon
detailed neighborhood data collection from Exams 1-3, incorporate emerging neighborhood data collection
techniques, and take advantage of the collaborative partnership established between the Drexel University
Dornsife School of Public Health and the JHS through the Center for Integrative Approaches to Health
Disparities.

Grant Number: 5R01HL148431-05
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Sharrelle Barber