Abstract P570: The Association of Ideal Cardiovascular Health With Self-Reported Health in Black American Women

Introduction: Black American women suffer disproportionately from an increased burden of cardiovascular health (CVH) risk factors, earlier onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and higher CVD mortality when compared to their White women. The Partnering in Negating Statistics (P.I.N.S.) for Black Women Initiative is an academic-community-government partnership aimed at uplifting Black women to achieve total health and wellness through the provision of education, access to resources, and partnership in science. Women’s community wellness events have operationalized the P.I.N.S. Initiative mission since 2021, drawing Black women and their families to take part in resources like cardiovascular disease screenings (AHA’s Life’s Simple 7 [LS7] and Life’s Essential 8 [LE8]) and education. The study presented herein examined the association of ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) with self-reported health among Black American women who attended the community wellness events. Methods: Community wellness events focusing on Black women occurred in 2021 and 2022. At these events, a battery of measurements including CVH metrics (blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, body mass index [BMI], physical activity, smoking, diet and sleep duration) and self-reported health(poor, fair, good, excellent) were collected from participants who chose to participate in biometric screening. The associations between LS7 (range 0-14)/LE8 (range 0-100) with self-reported health were tested using multinomial logistic regression controlling for age, income, and education. Results: One-hundred and twenty-three Black American women with complete LS7 and self-reported health data were included in the analysis 2021 and 2022, of those 63 of participants in 2022 had LE8 data. The mean age of participants was 50 (SD 14), 66%, 23%, 7% and 2% were employed, retired, unemployed and students, 76% and 15%, were enrolled in private insurance, Medicaid/Medicare and 15% had no insurance. Sixty-nine percent had educational attainment ≥ college. In fully adjusted analyses, a 1-unit increase (range 4-13) in LS7 was associated with a 34% lower odds of fair vs. excellent self-reported health (OR 0.66, 95%CI: 0.46, 0.96,p=0.0281). A 1-unit increase in LE8 (range 38-91) was associated with a 13% lower odds of fair vs. excellent self-reported health (OR 0.87, 95%CI: 0.78, 0.98, p=0.0258). Conclusion: Attainment of higher ICH was associated with lower odds of fair vs. excellent self-reported health among Black American women. This finding is important in community-based health interventions and clinical trial recruitment in historically underrepresented populations including Black women, as individuals who appropriately recognize their health status may be more likely to engage in clinical and community-based research to improve health.