Abstract 4336615: Impact of Environmental Toxins and Socio-Economic Disparities on Cardiovascular Disease Burden: Insights from a Rural Indian Cohort Exposed to long term Industrial Pollution

Abstract

Environmental degradation due to industrial groundwater contamination is an emerging cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. Our study examines the elevated CVD prevalence, including heart failure (HF) risk factors, in rural Punjab, India, near which a private distillery was linked to long-term groundwater contamination and environmental degradation. Our team primarily focused on CVD prevalence and its associations with environmental toxins. We also explored the role of socio-economic disparities on health outcomes. A cross-sectional study of 4,885 residents in three villages adjacent to the distillery (Mahianwala Kala, Ratol Rohi, Mansoorwaal Kalan) was conducted from October 2022 to August 2023. Health camps with follow-up door-to-door surveys by trained medical personnel collected medical histories, environmental exposure details, and socio-demographic data. Key outcomes included both communicable and non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and cancer. Logistic regression assessed associations between CVD prevalence, socio-economic status, and pollution exposure, with groundwater testing for heavy metals and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The cohort demonstrated a high CVD burden, with 39% having hypertension (exceeding national averages by more than 50%), 34% having diagnosed CVD, and 21.3% of households reporting an immediate family history of myocardial infarction. Adjusted models highlighted elevated odds of heart disease (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.31–1.51) and stroke (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.16–1.38), with higher clustering in low-income families. Concurrent systemic toxicity was also evident, as 60.5% reported dermatological conditions, 10.5% familial cancer, 20.8% with no history of smoking cited COPD-related dyspnea. We also observed elevated miscarriage rates and developmental disabilities in the studied population. Groundwater analysis confirmed contamination with cyanide (0.3 mg/L), lead (0.16 mg/L), and COD (320 mg/L), correlating with self-reported water discoloration and irregularities in taste. Families with polluted water access had a 1.5-fold increased CVD risk. Industrial contamination was linked to higher cardiovascular morbidity and multi-organ health effects in our study's cohort in rural India. The link was exacerbated by socio-economic inequities. These findings highlight the role of environmental degradation in rise in CVD, particularly in low-resource settings.