Overview
More than 13 million individuals have a history of incarceration in the USA. In spite of their young age, current and former inmates are at increased risk for developing and dying from cardiovascular disease. In some US studies, current and former inmates have higher rates of hypertension, smoking, diabetes, and end-stage heart disease, compared to the general population and are thus more likely to die from cardiovascular disease.
Why is this the case? There are a number of plausible reasons. Current and former inmates are more likely to be ethnic minorities and poor. Between 50 % and 80 % of US inmates have a history of substance abuse of cardiotoxic agents, like alcohol, cocaine, and amphetamines. Many individuals do not exercise or eat a healthy diet in prison or on the street. And most do not have a primary care provider in the community. The focus of this entry is to delineate (1) the...
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Wang, E.A. (2014). Imprisonment and Cardiac Risk. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_336
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