# Social Determinants of Health and Novel Prediction of Cardiovascular Health from Young Adulthood to Middle Age in the CARDIA Study

> **NIH NIH F31** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $40,733

## Abstract

Project Summary
In the U.S., approximately 840,000 Americans die from cardiovascular disease (CVD) each year. The prevalence
of CVD is on the rise and widespread disparities in CVD exist across economic, racial, and ethnic groups. In
order to address the rising prevalence of CVD and persistent disparities, there has been a shift in focus to public
health strategies addressing cardiovascular health (CVH). CVH is a broader and more positive construct beyond
the absence of CVD. Despite this recent focus on improving CVH, widespread disparities still exist. Social
determinants of health (SDOH) may be important contributors to these continued disparities. The World Health
Organization (WHO) defines SDOH as the “structural determinants and conditions in which people are born,
grow, live, work, and age.” There has been limited work in studying how a diverse set of SDOH change over
time and perform in the prediction of CVH. To address this need, we will identify patterns of SDOH exposure
over time and determine if the addition of SDOH variables allows for better prediction of an individual's CVH
status. The primary hypothesis is that a diverse set of SDOH will be associated with and improve the prediction
of CVH, independent of baseline CVH and other covariates. To examine this hypothesis, we will pursue the
following Specific Aims: 1) identify patterns of SDOH exposure up to age 50 and define exposure subgroups and
2) determine whether overall and domain-specific patterns of SDOH exposures from young adulthood to middle
age, identified in Aim 1, are associated with and improve the prediction of CVH and its component metrics. We
will utilize the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a prospective cohort study
with detailed information on cardiovascular risk factors and disease in a geographically and racially diverse
sample of young adults. In Aim 1, we will use a novel sequential pattern mining method to identify the
associations among SDOH and determine the SDOH exposure patterns from baseline to age 50. The Aim 1
SDOH exposure definitions will be included as predictors of CVH at age 50 and beyond using supervised
machine learning techniques. By including SDOH in predictive models, health services professionals and
clinicians may have an improved understanding of patients at high-risk for low CVH and may better tailor social
and clinical interventions to each patient's needs. If awarded, this fellowship will allow me to contribute novel
research to the SDOH and cardiovascular health fields, gain competency in new research skills, and improve
my writing and presentation skills. The completion of this project and training will prepare me for my long-term
career goal of becoming an independent research scientist in an academic setting, studying SDOH and using
data science and informatics tools to improve public health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9911103
- **Project number:** 1F31HL151178-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lindsay Paige Zimmerman
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $40,733
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2019-12-01 → 2021-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9911103

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9911103, Social Determinants of Health and Novel Prediction of Cardiovascular Health from Young Adulthood to Middle Age in the CARDIA Study (1F31HL151178-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9911103. Licensed CC0.

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