1423-P: The Association of the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 with Self-Reported Health, Diabetes, and Adiposity in African American Males

Background: African American (AA) men have the highest age-adjusted all-cause mortality rate in the U.S. and a high burden of risk factors contributing to chronic diseases. The African American Male Wellness Walk (AAMWW) seeks to reduce health disparities and promote attainment of Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) among AA males. We investigated the association of six components of the American Heart Association’s LS7 metrics: blood pressure, body weight, cholesterol, physical activity, smoking, and blood glucose with self-reported health, diabetes prevalence, body fat percentage (BF%), and family history of diabetes.

Methods: Our study included 731 AA male participants from the 2017 and 2018 AAMWWs. ANOVA and Chi-square tests analyzed continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Six metrics of LS7 developed a total cardiovascular health score, categorized by the number of ideal LS7 components as 0-2, 3, 4, 5-6. Logistic and linear regression models examined the association of LS7 with outcomes adjusted for age and insurance status.

Results: Participants with 5-6 ideal metrics compared to 0-2 had 261% higher odds of a 1 category higher self-reported health (p<0.0001). Individuals with 3-6 compared to 0-2 ideal metrics had 88% lower odds of diagnosed diabetes (p<0.001). Participants with 5-6 ideal metrics had a 12.2% lower body fat percentage compared to participants with 0-2 ideal metrics (p=0.0003).

Conclusion: Attainment of LS7 metrics is associated with improved self-reported health and inversely associated with diabetes prevalence and BF% among AA men in the AAMWW. Interventions targeting LS7 ideal metrics among AA men may promote health equity.