Historical trends have shown that men develop coronary heart disease (CHD) about a decade earlier than women. This pattern persists, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers examined data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which followed more than 5,100 US adults who were aged 18 to 30 at enrollment in 1985–1986 through August 2020. The cohort was composed of 54.5% women and 51.6% Black participants, with an average age at enrollment of nearly 25 years and a median follow-up period exceeding three decades.
Findings showed that men experienced higher cumulative rates of cardiovascular disease compared to women during the study period. Specifically, men had increased incidence rates for both CHD and heart failure subtypes, but there was no significant difference between sexes regarding stroke incidence.
The analysis revealed that men reached a 5% incidence rate for cardiovascular disease seven years earlier than women—at ages 50.5 versus 57.5 respectively. For CHD specifically, men reached a 2% incidence rate over ten years earlier than women did. No notable differences were found in the age when men and women reached similar incidence rates for stroke or heart failure.
Researchers noted that these disparities became apparent during participants’ fourth decade of life and could not be explained by differences in overall cardiovascular health between men and women.
