“We are witnessing a simmering public health crisis,” Rishi K Wadira, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and one of the study’s authors, wrote in an email.
deaths from heart attacks and other consequences Cardiovascular disease is declining in the United States due to medical advances in prevention and treatment. This progress has stalled over the past decade.
research, Published in the Journal of the American Medical Associationwith the aim of investigating whether young people are increasingly at risk using data from 2009 to 2020.
The results have been different. Obesity (from 33 percent to 41 percent) and diabetes (from 3 percent to 4 percent) increased. Hypertension showed no significant improvement: it increased slightly from 9 percent to 11.5 percent, but the increase did not reach statistical significance.
Hyperlipidemia – elevated cholesterol or triglyceride levels – decreased from 40.5 percent to 26 percent.
Black youth are most at risk. The prevalence of hypertension among them is twice that of other racial and ethnic groups. Diabetes and obesity are also more common.
The study’s authors pointed to structural racial inequality in American society as a driver of the divide.
“Younger black people are more likely to live in lower-income households with unstable housing and food insecurity, and in socially and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods,” Vader said. Black individuals also disproportionately face challenges accessing primary and preventive care and are more likely to live in “pharmacy deserts,” which refer to areas where access to medications is difficult.
Hypertension is increasing among Hispanics, a trend not evident among other groups.
Researchers say diets high in sodium and highly processed foods are among the factors leading to high blood pressure in Hispanics. They emphasized that it goes beyond lifestyle choices. When people are struggling to pay their bills, they often turn to cheaper, unhealthy food. Fresh produce is hard to come by in areas with few grocery stores.
The researchers believe that the percentage of young adults with high cholesterol is partly due to the higher regulation of trans fats in the diet.
The study found no significant difference in cardiovascular risk factors between men and women.
They also caution that it is unclear whether trends have persisted since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, as the study only covered up to 2020.
Here are some ways the study authors suggested closing the gap:
- Expand broad efforts to screen and treat young black people for high blood pressure.
- Screen people for diabetes early in life, as current guidelines focus mainly on people aged 35 and over.
- Launching a public health campaign to address the high incidence of diabetes among culturally competent Mexican American adults by community leaders.
- Creating more green spaces in communities that encourage exercise to combat sedentary lifestyles that contribute to obesity.
The study warned that if steps are not taken to reverse the trends, the consequences could be dire for public health.
Vadhra said, “The increased burden of risk factors we observed among young adults, especially if these trends continue, could lead to a tsunami of long-term cardiovascular disease and ultimately an increase in cardiovascular mortality as the US population ages.” age.” .
