Effect of Community Affluence on the Association Between Individual Socioeconomic Status and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors, Colorado, 2007-2008

We assessed the hypothesis that community affluence modifies the association between individual socioeconomic status (SES) and 6 cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors: diabetes, hypertension, physical inactivity, obesity, smoking, and poor nutrition. We stratified data from the Colorado Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2007 and 2008 by individual SES and 3 categories of community affluence (median household income of county). People who had a low SES seemed to benefit from residing in high-affluence communities. Living in high-affluence communities may mitigate the effect of poverty on CVD risk factors; our findings support the value of interventions that address social determinants of health.