Associations of Income Volatility With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality in a US Cohort: 1990 to 2015

Background: Income volatility is on the rise and presents a growing public health problem. Because in many epidemiological studies income is measured at a single point in time, the association of long-term income volatility with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality has not been adequately explored. The goal of this study was to examine associations of income volatility from 1990 to 2005 with incident CVD and all-cause mortality in the subsequent 10 years. Methods: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study is an ongoing prospective cohort study conducted within urban field centers in Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; and Oakland, CA. We studied 3937 black and white participants 23 to 35 years of age in 1990 (our study baseline). Income volatility was defined as the intraindividual SD of the percent change in income across 5 assessments from 1990 to 2005. An income drop was defined as a decrease of ≥25% from the previous visit and less than the participant’s avera...