Where you live affects heart disease risk

PHILADELPHIA, March 26 (UPI) -- Where people live influences their lifestyle, and as a result, their risk of heart disease, according to a U.S. study.

Carol Homko of Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia and colleagues found rural residents were more knowledgeable about healthy eating and heart disease risk compared to urban residents, but urban residents were more motivated and optimistic about getting healthy.

However, fresh fruits and vegetables as well as opportunities to exercise were readily available in rural areas, while urban areas offered fewer opportunities to buy fresh produce and exercise, Homko said.

The findings were presented at the American Heart Association's Cardiovascular Disease and Epidemiology meeting in Orlando, Fla., and the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans.

"We found urban Caucasians had a lifestyle more similar to urban minorities than rural Caucasians," study authors Dr. Steve Domsky and Dr. Abul Kashem said in a statement.

"Urban Caucasians, like urban minorities, were younger and had a higher rate of smoking, a higher incidence of diabetes, larger waist size and higher levels of C-reactive protein, an indicator of heart disease risk."