Abstract 17015: Understanding Sex Differences With Cardiac Risk Factors in the Young Adult Population

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) is increasing in young adults (YA) (age<40 years), and greater understanding of their cardiac risk factors is essential to create effective preventive strategies. Given the sex differences for CAD observed in older adults, understanding if sex differences exist for CAD risk factors in YAs is important. Hypothesis: There will be several risk factors associated with CAD in YAs that will differ between men and women. Methods: In this secondary analysis, 125,017 YAs between the ages of 18-44 were evaluated for health conditions and behaviors considered to be risk factors for CAD. The 2017 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System database from the Center for Disease Control was utilized. Frequency procedures, chi-square testing, and logistic regression modeling with odds ratios were analyzed using (SAS) 9.4 software. Results: Greater percentages of men (65.5%) than women (56.7%) were found to be overweight (BMI 25-30) or obese (BMI =>30) (p<.0001). Men reported higher rates of hypertension with 18.6% as compared to women with hypertension at 11.5% (p<.0001). High cholesterol and heavy alcohol consumption were characteristic of men in this sample with percentages at 17.8% for high cholesterol and 7.5% for heavy alcohol use. YAs between the ages of 40-44 were over 2 times as likely to develop CAD than those aged 18-24, odds ratio (OR) 2.4. YAs between the ages of 25-29 were least likely to develop CAD compared to 18-24 with the lowest OR 1.3. Overall, significant risk factors for developing CAD in this population were HTN (OR 4.1), age 35-44 (OR >2.2), high cholesterol (OR 2.2), smoking (OR 1.9), and prediabetes (OR 1.7). Physical activity (OR 0.6) and healthcare coverage (OR 0.7) were protective factors against CAD. There were 276 young adults in all who were diagnosed with CAD in this analysis. Conclusions: Greater efforts are needed to reduce the number of risk factors in YAs and prevent the development of CAD. There were significant gender differences noted in CAD risk factors within the YA population. Targeted interventions should include counseling as outlined in the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 Campaign in an effort to improve cardiovascular health in young adult men and women.