Living in proximity to pubs, bars, and fast-food establishments may increase the risk of heart failure, as revealed by new research published in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.
These ready-to-eat food environments are often associated with unhealthy food and beverage options, contributing to cardiovascular diseases, according to Lu Qi, M.D., Ph.D., the study’s senior author and a professor in the epidemiology department at Tulane University in New Orleans.
Heart failure is characterized by the heart’s inability to pump sufficient blood to meet the body’s demands for oxygen and nutrients. Despite its prevalence, few studies have explored the link between heart failure and the food environment until now, making this study a pioneering effort in long-term observation of this association.
Dr. Qi emphasized, “While most previous research focused on food quality’s impact on health, our study underscores the crucial role of food environment in nutrition research.”
The researchers analyzed data from the UK Biobank, a comprehensive database containing health information for over 500,000 adults in the United Kingdom. They assessed participants’ exposure to three types of food environments: pubs or bars, restaurants or cafeterias, and fast-food outlets. Exposure was determined based on proximity (living within a 1-kilometer/0.62-mile radius or a 15-minute walk) and density (the number of ready-to-eat food outlets within the predefined radius).
The study, spanning a 12-year follow-up period, documented nearly 13,000 cases of heart failure through national electronic health-related datasets.
The analysis revealed that closer proximity and higher density of ready-to-eat food outlets correlated with an increased risk of heart failure. The specific findings included:
- Participants residing in areas with the highest density of ready-to-eat food outlets (defined as a 1-kilometer/.62-mile radius with 11 or more outlets) faced a 16% greater risk of heart failure compared to those with no such establishments nearby.
- Individuals in areas with the highest density of pubs and bars exhibited a 14% higher risk of heart failure, while those in areas with the most fast-food outlets had a 12% elevated risk.
- Those living closest to pubs and bars (within 500 meters/.31 miles) experienced a 13% higher risk, and those in close proximity to fast-food outlets had a 10% higher risk compared to those living farther away (over 2,000 meters/1.24 miles).
Interestingly, the heightened risk was more pronounced among participants without a college degree and urban residents lacking access to formal physical activity facilities like gyms.
Dr. Qi noted that these findings align with previous studies linking exposure to ready-to-eat food environments with increased risks of disorders such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity, which can further elevate the risk of heart failure.
The authors suggested that enhancing access to healthier food environments and physical fitness facilities in urban areas, coupled with promoting higher education attainment, could help mitigate the heightened risk of heart failure associated with convenient but potentially unhealthy meal options.