Global burden of adolescent and young adult cardiovascular diseases and risk factors: Results from Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

<p>Comprehensive research on the global burden of CVDs among adolescents and young adults (15-44 years) is lacking. We analyzed the results from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019, and the incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) of 13 CVD types in adolescents and young adults were calculated. We also assessed 19 risk factors associated with CVD-related DALYs across 204 countries and territories from 1990-2019. In 2019, there were 5.7 million CVD incidents and 45.4 million DALYs and 761,458 deaths due to CVDs in adolescents and young adults, globally. CVDs remained the first leading cause of death worldwide among 21 causes of death and the fifth leading cause of death and disability combined in 2019. From 1990-2019, the absolute number of CVD incidents and CVD-related deaths and DALYs increased by 45.5%, 21.6%, and 18.0%, respectively. The highest age-standardized DALY, incidence, and mortality rates from CVDs were observed in the low- and low-middle-sociodemographic index (SDI) regions. Ischemic heart disease, stroke, and rheumatic heart disease were the top three CVDs with the highest age-standardized DALYs. The five leading specific risk factors contributing to CVD-related DALYs were high systolic blood pressure, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high body mass index (BMI), ambient particulate matter pollution (PM2.5), and smoking. The burden of CVDs in adolescents and young adults increased substantially from 1990-2019. Effective and targeted strategies for the prevention and management of CVDs in this population are needed to reduce the overall CVD burden.</p>