A study has found that men start developing coronary heart disease several years before women, with sex-based differences emerging by the mid-30s, highlighting that preventive care for young men could be important for improving heart health and lowering disease risk.
Even though the risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes have become more similar between the sexes over recent decades, the gap hasn't narrowed, said senior author Alexa Freedman, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University's school of medicine.
The study, published in the Journal of The American Heart Association, looked beyond standard measures, such as cholesterol and blood pressure, and considered a broader range of biological and social factors to understand why sex differences persist.
More than 5,100 adults ages 18-30 were recruited for the 'Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults' (CARDIA) study, which began in the mid-1980s, and were followed up until 2020.
Men reached a five per cent risk of cardiovascular disease about seven years earlier than women, with coronary heart disease accounting for most of the difference, the researchers said.
Men were also estimated to reach a two per cent incidence of coronary heart disease more than a decade before women.
However, stroke rates were similar between the sexes, while differences in heart failure emerged later in life.
"This was still a relatively young sample -- everyone was under 65 at last follow-up -- and stroke and heart failure tend to develop later in life," Freedman said.
The researchers said one of the most striking findings was when the risk gap opened.
While men and women were found to have a similar cardiovascular risk through their early 30s, around age 35, men's risk was noted to rise faster and stay higher through midlife.
The researchers said that heart disease screening and prevention efforts, which often focus on adults aged 40 and above, may therefore miss an important window.
"Our findings suggest that encouraging preventive care visits among young men could be an important opportunity to improve heart health and lower cardiovascular disease risk," Freedman said.
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