{"id":19908,"date":"2025-03-12T20:33:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T20:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=19908"},"modified":"2025-03-12T20:33:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T20:33:17","slug":"new-study-unveils-link-between-food-insecurity-and-heart-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-study-unveils-link-between-food-insecurity-and-heart-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Unveils Link Between Food Insecurity and Heart Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">Young adults facing food insecurity are at a 41% higher risk of developing heart disease in midlife, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. The findings could transform how health care providers screen for and address food insecurity to reduce heart disease.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Young adults grappling with food insecurity today could encounter serious heart problems tomorrow. A new study by Northwestern Medicine has found a striking 41% increase in the risk of developing heart disease among individuals who struggled to afford nutritious food in their early 30s to mid-40s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study, <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamacardiology\/article-abstract\/2831124\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> today in JAMA Cardiology, underscores a critical link between food insecurity and long-term cardiovascular health. It analyzed data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a long-term cohort study that has followed a diverse group of Black and white U.S. adults since the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Jenny Jia, an instructor of general internal medicine and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine internist, stresses the importance of this finding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve known that food insecurity and heart disease often go hand in hand, but this study shows, for the first time, that food insecurity comes first,\u201d she said in a news release. \u201cThat makes it a clear target for prevention \u2014 if we address food insecurity early, we may be able to reduce the burden of heart disease later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Study Offers Groundbreaking Insights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Jia and her colleagues examined health outcomes of 3,616 participants from the early 2000s over the next 20 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They found that 11% of those experiencing food insecurity developed heart disease, compared to only 6% among food-secure individuals. This finding remained significant even after accounting for demographic and socioeconomic factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jia highlighted the causal direction of this relationship, resolving the long-standing &#8220;chicken-or-the-egg&#8221; question regarding food insecurity and heart disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBy following people over two decades, we were able to show that food insecurity, on its own, significantly increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease,\u201d Jia added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Implications for Health Care Providers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The study underscores the urgent need for health care providers to screen for food insecurity as a preventive measure against heart disease. Primary care settings, emergency rooms and specialty clinics are ideal venues for such screenings, according to Jia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBecause there tends to be a lot of trust between primary care providers and patients,\u201d Jia said, these settings provide a unique opportunity to address food insecurity early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jia also advocates for the use of diverse strategies to help those who screen positive for food insecurity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Do we connect them to social workers who can refer them to existing community programs? Should health care systems develop their own interventions? These are the next big questions,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Future Directions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Moving forward, Jia and her team plan to continue monitoring the study participants into older age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s surprising to see heart disease in this group, which doesn\u2019t include those 65 or older,\u201d added Jia. \u201cAs they near 80, we plan to revisit the study to explore the evolving link to heart disease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The CARDIA study was supported by the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and carried out in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota and the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The findings from this study not only reveal a crucial public health issue but also point toward actionable steps that could be taken to mitigate the risk of heart disease through early intervention and comprehensive community support.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.northwestern.edu\/stories\/2025\/03\/food-insecurity-today-heart-disease-tomorrow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Northwestern University<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Young adults grappling with food insecurity today could encounter serious heart problems tomorrow. A new study by Northwestern Medicine has found a striking 41% increase in the risk of developing heart disease among individuals who struggled to afford nutritious food in their early 30s to mid-40s. The study, published today in JAMA Cardiology, underscores a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[143,45,142,104],"class_list":["post-19908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","tag-kaiser-foundation-research-institute","tag-northwestern-university","tag-university-of-alabama","tag-university-of-minnesota"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Young adults grappling with food insecurity today could encounter serious heart problems tomorrow. A new study by Northwestern Medicine has found a striking 41% increase in the risk of developing heart disease among individuals who struggled to afford nutritious food in their early 30s to mid-40s. The study, published today in JAMA Cardiology, underscores a&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19908"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19970,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19908\/revisions\/19970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}