The Cardiovascular Health of Young Adults: Disparities along the Urban-Rural Continuum

Abstract

U.S. young adults coming of age in the early twenty-first century are the first cohort to grow up during the obesity epidemic; justifiably, there is much concern about their cardiovascular health. To date, however, no research has examined the extent to which there are disparities in young adult cardiovascular health across the urban-rural continuum. We examine this topic using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). We find that young adults who live in metropolitan core areas exhibit more favorable cardiovascular health than individuals who live in smaller communities and that population density largely accounts for this association. Further, individuals living in more densely populated areas in young adulthood relative to during adolescence have better cardiovascular health than those who live in areas similar or less dense than their adolescent residence. Our results strongly suggest that the physical and social features of communities represent important contexts for young adult cardiovascular health.