How to Win a Young Heart? A Big Data Statistical Analysis of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Youth
Sudhanva Kulkarni, Mahesh Kappanayil, Sarin Xavier, Harikrishnan Anil Maya, Chinmay Bhimaji Kulkarni
A
BSTRACT
Aim:
Recently, the youth (defined here as 20–30 years old) have been adopting new lifestyle choices and habits that can influence their risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as arrhythmia and coronary heart diseases. Research on CVD in youth is relatively scarce due to the low prevalence of CVD among youth and nonavailability of reliable large-scale health data on the youth. This study is an attempt to analyze whether controllable factors influence CVD risk among youth. We hypothesized that physical attributes, dietary behavior, and physical activity play key roles in mitigating the risk of CVD in youth.
Materials and Methods:
The data used for this study were the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. Data used in this study were obtained from 6 biennial cycles from 2008 to 2020 of the United States of America (USA) NHANES, which had a sample size of 4700–5800 per cycle representing a USA youth population of 34–42 million per cycle. The cycles were combined using the guidelines and sample weights provided by NHANES. Physical attributes, diet and physical activity behavior data were taken from various demographics and questionnaire data of NHANES.
Results:
Analysis suggested that the CVD risk score for USA youth, based on the 30-year Framingham risk score (FRS), is low. However, statistical tests indicated that physical attributes, dietary behavior, and physical activity do influence CVD risk among youth. Specifically, high body mass index (BMI), obesity, alcohol consumption, eating out frequently, and consuming fast food were associated with higher CVD risk. Youth who had an excellent diet, adequate sleep, and who engaged in vigorous recreational activities, such as playing basketball, walking, and bicycling, had lower CVD risk. Importantly, the analysis indicated that having an excellent diet outweighed the impact of moderate or vigorous physical activity in reducing the CVD risk.
Conclusion:
The CVD risk score for USA youth, based on the 30-year FRS, is low. However, physical attributes, dietary behavior, and physical activity influence CVD risk among youth. Youth with excellent diets had lower FRS scores.