Health & Medicine
Obesity In Early Adultood Increases Risk Of Cardiac Death
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Nov 28, 2015 01:37 PM EST
Being obese or overweight in early adulthood may increase the risk of sudden cardiac death, according to a recent study.
Researchers found that women who were overweight or obese at the beginning of the study showed an elevated risk of sudden cardiac death throughout the entire study period. The study began when the participants were age 18. Furthermore, researchers also found that weight gain in early-to-mid adulthood was associated with greater risk of sudden cardiac death regardless of BMI (body mass index) at age 18.
During the study, researchers analyzed data from the Nurses' Health study, which followed 72,484 healthy women from 1980 to 2012. Participants provided information on both their height and weight at the beginning of the study as they remembered it when they were 18 and were also required to answer questionnaires every two years throughout the 32-year-long study period.
Throughout this time, researchers documented 445 cases of sudden cardiac death, 1,286 cases of fatal coronary heart disease and 2,272 non-fatal heart attacks. Women with a higher BMI during adulthood showed a greater risk of sudden cardiac death. Those who were also overweight (with a BMI between 25-30) and those who were obese (BMI at 30 or greater) were 1.5 and 2 times more likely to experience sudden cardiac death over the next two years when compared to women at a healthy weight (BMI 21-23), researchers say. Furthermore, women who were overweight or obese at age 18 showed an elevated risk of sudden cardiac death throughout the entire course of the study.
However, as this is an observational study, the findings cannot determine a cause and effect relationship. For instance, the Nurses' Health Study includes a population of educated, primarily white women that did not look at other ethnic groups. Furthermore, the studies were based on self-reported information that may leave more room for errors.
The study is published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.
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TagsHealth, Human, Adulthood, Cardiac Death, Risk, Overweight, Obesity, Obese, BMI, Body Mass Index, Age, JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
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First Posted: Nov 28, 2015 01:37 PM EST
Being obese or overweight in early adulthood may increase the risk of sudden cardiac death, according to a recent study.
Researchers found that women who were overweight or obese at the beginning of the study showed an elevated risk of sudden cardiac death throughout the entire study period. The study began when the participants were age 18. Furthermore, researchers also found that weight gain in early-to-mid adulthood was associated with greater risk of sudden cardiac death regardless of BMI (body mass index) at age 18.
During the study, researchers analyzed data from the Nurses' Health study, which followed 72,484 healthy women from 1980 to 2012. Participants provided information on both their height and weight at the beginning of the study as they remembered it when they were 18 and were also required to answer questionnaires every two years throughout the 32-year-long study period.
Throughout this time, researchers documented 445 cases of sudden cardiac death, 1,286 cases of fatal coronary heart disease and 2,272 non-fatal heart attacks. Women with a higher BMI during adulthood showed a greater risk of sudden cardiac death. Those who were also overweight (with a BMI between 25-30) and those who were obese (BMI at 30 or greater) were 1.5 and 2 times more likely to experience sudden cardiac death over the next two years when compared to women at a healthy weight (BMI 21-23), researchers say. Furthermore, women who were overweight or obese at age 18 showed an elevated risk of sudden cardiac death throughout the entire course of the study.
However, as this is an observational study, the findings cannot determine a cause and effect relationship. For instance, the Nurses' Health Study includes a population of educated, primarily white women that did not look at other ethnic groups. Furthermore, the studies were based on self-reported information that may leave more room for errors.
The study is published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.
Related Articles
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone