Urban imperviousness and carotid intima-medial thickness: Evidence from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study

IF 8.2 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Science of the Total Environment Pub Date : 2025-04-18 DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179376

Dandan Zhao , Jie Yao , Yuanfei Li , David R. Jacobs Jr , Tao Gao , Linda H. Nie , Colin O. Wu , Umit Tokac , Shuang Li , Hui Zhao , Donald Lloyd-Jones , Lifang Hou , Kai Zhang

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Abstract

Background

Urbanization has increased impervious cover – surfaces that cannot absorb or filter water – which may raise cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks through reduced walkability, increased heat, and pollution. However, the relationship between imperviousness and subclinical CVD indicators, specifically carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), remains unexplored, especially across diverse populations. This study aims to investigate whether impervious cover in residential communities is associated with CIMT, and whether these associations differ by race and sex.

Method

Linking urban impervious cover data from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2006) to individual carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) information from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, this research employed linear regression models and examined whether the prevalence of impervious surface in immediate neighborhood and surrounding areas is associated with CIMT among middle-aged adults and whether the association varies across sex and race groups.

Results

Overall, there's no significant association between impervious coverage and CIMT, but differences exist among subpopulations. For women, the proportions of impervious surfaces within varying buffers (distance range 50 m to 5000 m) are positively associated with CIMT (β range 0.599 to 1.072 mm/m, with p range < 0.001 to 0.044), which can fully be annulled by a set of social determinants of health. Black adults' CIMT is still positively associated with impervious coverage beyond a buffer of 1 km regardless of the adjustment (β range 0.999 to 1.119 mm/m, with p range 0.024 to 0.043), while no significant association exists for buffers of 750 m or less. By comparison, there are no significant associations for men or White adults.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that impervious cover in urban areas may contribute to early CVD development among Black adults. The absence of associations within smaller buffers and among other demographic groups highlights the complexity of environmental pathways and cardiovascular health.

Abstract Image

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城市不透水与颈动脉内膜-中层厚度：年轻人冠状动脉风险发展（CARDIA）研究的证据

城市化增加了不透水的覆盖物（不能吸收或过滤水的表面），这可能通过降低步行性、增加热量和污染而增加心血管疾病（CVD）风险。然而，不通透性与亚临床CVD指标，特别是颈动脉内膜-中膜厚度（CIMT）之间的关系仍未被探索，特别是在不同的人群中。本研究旨在调查居住社区的不透水覆盖是否与CIMT相关，以及这些关联是否因种族和性别而异。方法将来自国家土地覆盖数据库（NLCD 2006）的城市不透水覆盖数据与来自年轻人冠状动脉风险发展（CARDIA）研究的个人颈动脉内膜-中膜厚度（CIMT）信息联系起来，本研究采用线性回归模型，并检验了近邻和周边地区的不透水表面的流行是否与中年人的CIMT相关，以及这种关联是否因性别和种族而异。结果总体而言，不透水覆盖率与CIMT之间无显著相关性，但不同亚群间存在差异。对于女性来说，不同缓冲区内不透水表面的比例（距离范围为50 m至5000 m）与CIMT呈正相关(β范围为0.599至1.072 mm/m， p范围为<；0.001到0.044)，这可以被一系列健康的社会决定因素完全取消。无论如何调整，黑人成人的CIMT与缓冲区长超过1 km的不透水覆盖率仍然呈正相关（β范围0.999 ~ 1.119 mm/m， p范围0.024 ~ 0.043），而对于缓冲区长小于750 m的不透水覆盖率则不存在显著相关。相比之下，男性或白人成年人没有明显的关联。结论我们的研究结果表明，城市地区的不透水覆盖可能有助于黑人成人早期心血管疾病的发展。在较小的缓冲区和其他人口群体之间缺乏关联，突出了环境途径和心血管健康的复杂性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Science of the Total Environment 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

17.60

自引率

10.20%

发文量

8726

审稿时长

2.4 months

期刊介绍： The Science of the Total Environment is an international journal dedicated to scientific research on the environment and its interaction with humanity. It covers a wide range of disciplines and seeks to publish innovative, hypothesis-driven, and impactful research that explores the entire environment, including the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and anthroposphere. The journal's updated Aims & Scope emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary environmental research with broad impact. Priority is given to studies that advance fundamental understanding and explore the interconnectedness of multiple environmental spheres. Field studies are preferred, while laboratory experiments must demonstrate significant methodological advancements or mechanistic insights with direct relevance to the environment.