Exploring the Interplay of Socioeconomic Factors, Psychosocial Stress, and CVD Risk in Urban and Rural Indian Settings

Abstract

The distribution and determinants of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are most prevalent in urban and rural populations, as this issue is the primary cause of death in India. This paper examines the interrelation of socioeconomic inequalities, psychosocial stressors, lifestyle behaviors, and access to health services as factors in the risk of CVDs in different contexts in India. Based on a mixed-methods design and the analysis of both secondary sources and structured interviews on the selected districts, the study singles out such key predictors as income inequality, occupational strain, migration-related stress, social support fragmentation, and inequitable access to preventive care. Results indicate urban communities are at greater risk of CVD and this risk can be explained by the sedentary lifestyle, professional stress, and environmental contamination, but in rural communities, the risk patterns relate to economic insecurity, the lack of adequate healthcare facilities, and the changing diets connected to modernization. Psychosocial stress was always mediating factor whereby biological risk factors like hypertension and obesity were enhancing. The research identifies a high level of setting variation and recommends community-specific and targeted interventions to reduce the burden of CVD in India. The limitations are restricted to a limited geographic coverage, self-reported stress measures, and cross-sectional limitations. The longitudinal tracking, biomarker-based measurements, and AI-inspired behavioural analytics should be added to the research in the future to make causal conclusions and policy-making stronger.