20-Year trend of high prevalence of zero coronary artery calcium in beach cities of Southern California: A blue zone?

BACKGROUND: Blue zones are longevity hotspots around the world characterized by highest concentrations of healthy centenarians. Certified blue zone communities are designed by implementation of environmental and policy changes that promote healthy behaviors. OBJECTIVE: To examine the trends of prevalence of zero CAC, a marker of ideal cardiovascular and overall health status and burden of cardiovascular risk factors in Beach Cities/certified blue zones of Southern California and rest of California. METHODS: This is a population-based cohort study of persons aged 50 years or older in California, who underwent CAC screening between 2000 and 2019. A total of 3864 participants from Beach Cities of Southern California were identified by Zip Codes and compared with 35,537 participants from rest of California. We compared trends of prevalence of zero CAC and cardiovascular risk factors between the two groups, in 5-year intervals. RESULTS: Among 39,401 participants (mean age, 58.1 years; 36% women), 13,374 (34%) had zero CAC. The prevalence of CAC ​= ​0 was significantly higher in Beach Cities compared to the rest of California (p ​< ​0.001). Across the study period, the prevalence of cardiac risk factors including obesity, smoking, diabetes and hypertension remain significantly lower in Beach Cities. (p ​< ​0.001) CONCLUSIONS: This study, shows for the first time, that higher prevalence of zero CAC in Beach Cities of California, adds validity to excellent prognosis and longevity in these areas. The impact of policy implementation and environmental changes on lifestyle patterns, cardiovascular health and healthy ageing needs to be evaluated.