Principal Investigator: Louise Pilote

Affiliation: RIMUHC - The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre

Start Year: 2025

Background

Gentrification happens when wealthier people move into urban neighbourhoods, often changing the character of the area and making it less affordable for long-time residents. Many studies have looked at the social and economic effects of gentrification, but fewer have explored its impact on health, especially heart and brain health. The limited research so far has focused mostly on mental health, with less attention to long-term outcomes like heart disease and high blood pressure.

Another important piece of this puzzle is how sex and gender might shape the health impacts of gentrification. Biological, social, and behavioural differences between women and men could lead to different experiences and health effects. These gaps show the need for a deeper, multi-dimensional study using a large, long-term research cohort.

Objectives

This study aims to:

1. Create a gentrification measurement linked to CanPath (the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health) data, to assess its effect on cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes.
2. Examine the link between gentrification measures and CVD outcomes.
3. Explore whether sex and gender-related factors change the strength or direction of this link.

Methods

CanPath is a national study that follows Canadians aged 30 to 74. For this project, we’ll study participants living in major Canadian cities. Baseline CanPath data provides rich demographic and health information.

To measure CVD risk:

• Primary outcome: INTERHEART score
• Secondary outcome: Adjusted Framingham Risk Score (FRS)

To measure gentrification:

• We’ll use GENUINE (Gentrification, Urban Interventions and Equity), a map-based tool for Canadian cities. These data are available from the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) and are already linked with CanPath.

We’ll run multilevel linear regression models to explore the relationship between gentrification and CVD risk and test whether sex and gender-related factors modify these associations.

Significance

This study adds a new dimension to how CanPath data can be used by examining the connection between gentrification and cardiovascular health. By also considering sex and gender, it highlights how urban planning and policy can be more responsive to different populations. Findings could help guide gender-sensitive urban planning strategies and reduce health risks for vulnerable groups.