The study included more than 280,000 adult patients who visited Mayo Clinic between 2018 and 2023. Researchers assessed the social determinants of health using a comprehensive questionnaire that covered several areas, including stress, physical activity, social relationships, financial status, housing instability, nutrition, and education.
Researchers determined the biological age of the heart using AI-assisted electrocardiography (AI-ECG). The results showed that the greater the difference between the biological and chronological age of the heart, the higher the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and the greater the likelihood of future death. The researchers also used structural equation modeling to analyze the relationship between social determinants of health, traditional risk factors, and accelerated cardiac aging.
The study revealed that financial difficulties and food insecurity are among the strongest factors associated with accelerated heart aging and higher mortality rates, both in the overall sample and when analyzing results by gender.
It has also been shown that housing problems and lack of physical activity are reliable indicators of an increased risk of premature death, at a level equal to — and sometimes even exceeding — some traditional risk factors, such as smoking and malnutrition.
