The association between food environments and cardiovascular disease outcomes: A systematic review

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, particularly affecting low- and middle-income countries. Food environments may be linked with the risk of CVD; however, current study findings regarding their relationship are inconsistent. A systematic review of their associations is needed to guide interventions to improve cardiovascular health.

Objective

This systematic review aimed to comprehensively assess the relationship between food environments and CVD outcomes, including incidence, hospitalization, mortality, and recurrence rates.

Method

According to PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted until 28th March 2024, using eight databases, including PubMed, Embase, Ovid, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Data. The review quality was assessed according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). The included studies were categorized based on their exposure factors into unhealthy, healthy, and comprehensive food environments, encompassing facilities that offer healthy and unhealthy foods. The findings were narratively synthesized according to this classification.

Result

A total of 23 studies, encompassing 13 cross-sectional studies and 10 cohort-longitudinal studies, were included in this review. Among the 20 studies on unhealthy food environments, 13 found a positive association with CVD outcomes. Of the seven studies on healthy food environments, 3 found a negative association with CVD outcomes. Additionally, 4 out of 8 studies on comprehensive food environments found a significant but inconsistent association with CVD outcomes.

Conclusion

This study suggested that unhealthy food environments are probably associated with CVD outcomes. At the same time, there is currently no conclusive evidence to indicate a relationship between healthy food environments or comprehensive food environments and CVD outcomes.