University of Gothenburg — Journal of Internal Medicine — 8 April 2021
Heart failure and stroke are unusual diagnoses among younger people — but they are now clearly on the rise in men below the age of 40, according to a University of Gothenburg study. The research, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, includes data on 1,258,432 men who enlisted for military service in Sweden between 1971 and 1995, monitored over a period exceeding 20 years.
Heart failure cases within 21 years of enlistment rose by 69% — from 0.49 per 1,000 in the first five-year cohort (1971–75) to 0.83 per 1,000 in the last (1991–95). Stroke cases showed a similar trend: cerebral infarction rose by 32%, and cerebral haemorrhage rose by 20%. In contrast, heart attacks fell by 43%, likely due to a sharp fall in smoking. Deaths from all cardiovascular disease also decreased.
The proportion of participants who were overweight at the time of enlistment rose from 6.6% to 11.2% between 1971 and 1995, while those with obesity rose from 1.0% to 2.6%. Fitness levels also declined slightly. “These factors — overweight, obesity and low fitness — partly explain the large increase in heart failure and the rise in stroke,” said lead author Associate Professor David Åberg. “At societal level, it’s important to try to get more physical activity, and to have already established good eating habits by adolescence, while being less sedentary.”