Swatit Nayak

How do socioeconomic and environmental factors influence cardiovascular health outcomes spanning from urban Detroit to rural Michigan

Started June 4, 2025

Abstract or project description

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains to be a leading cause of mortality in the United States, but its prevalence is not standard across regions. This project examines how socioeconomic and environmental factors influence cardiovascular health outcomes across Michigan, providing a wide array of circumstances across Michigan’s urban-rural divide. Cardiovascular disease accounts for more than 800,000 deaths annually in the United States, representing 1 in every 5 deaths, with Michigan consistently reporting higher age-adjusted mortality rates than the national average. Using available public health datasets, custom dataset was created that brought together relevant variables from a common timespan. Ambulatory disability emerged as the single strongest predictor of cardiovascular deaths across Michigan counties, with the models showing over 90% of the variance in outcomes. Additionally, despite Oakland County’s high income and education levels, it still reported over 2,400 deaths, underscoring how structural burdens like disability and pollution outweigh socioeconomic advantages.