| "March 28, 2007 (New Orleans) -- Contrary to previous findings, a new study shows that where you live plays a bigger role in your risk for heart disease than your ethnicity or race." ""We found that urban Caucasians had risk factors that were more similar to those of urban African-Americans than rural Caucasians,â? says researcher Carol Homko, PhD, assistant professor at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia." "The study showed that based on blood pressure and cholesterol levels, smoking status, age, sex, and diabetes, urban dwellers had a greater risk of developing heart disease over the next 10 years: 18% vs. 16% for rural residents." "Further analysis showed that urban residents of either race were more likely to smoke: 43% vs. 13% of rural residents, and more suffered from diabetes: 55% vs. 37%." "The urban dwellers also had larger waistlines and higher levels of an inflammatory blood marker known as C-reactive protein that has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease." "Interestingly, rural residents of both races were more knowledgeable about healthy eating and heart disease risks than their urban counterparts, Homko says." "For the study, the researchers tracked the habits of 254 rural residents, nearly all of whom were white, and 211 inner-city dwellers, 28 of whom were white." "Previous studies have shown that the difference in heart disease risk among urban and rural residents could be explained by differences in racial makeup, but these findings challenge that view, she says." "â??Itâ??s much harder to exercise in the city because of safety issues,â? she tells WebMD. â??And itâ??s more
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