Overweight teenagers are more likely to develop heart failure in early middle age, researchers say today.
The findings have led to warnings that with more teens being overweight and obese, there is a major threat to health worldwide if more people are diagnosed with heart failure before the age of 50.
The Swedish study, which followed more than 1.6 million men from adolescence onwards between 1968 and 2005, found that there was a 16% increased risk of heart failure in individuals who had a body mass index of 20 and the risk rose sharply to almost a ten-fold increased risk in those whose BMI was 35 or over.
The study, which is published today (17 June, 2016) in the European Heart Journal, involved the analysis of data on 1,610,437 men from the Swedish Conscript registry.
The participants were followed from the time they enlisted at 18 for between five to 42 years, with an average follow-up time of 23 years.
During that time, 5,492 men, whose average age was almost 47, were admitted to hospital for heart failure.
Compared with men who had a BMI of between 18.5 and 20 at the time of conscription, men with a BMI of 20 to 22.5 had a 22% increased risk of heart failure, after adjusting for factors that could affect the results.
The risk nearly doubled for those with a BMI between 22.5 and 25, and more than tripled for those with a BMI between 25 and 27.5.
The risk increased more than six-fold for those classified as obese with a BMI between 30 and 35, and was nearly 10-fold for the very obese with a BMI of 35 or more.
Annika Rosengren, professor of medicine at the Sahlgrenska Academy (Gothenburg, Sweden), who led the research, said: “Although most studies define a normal weight as having a BMI between 18.5 and 25, this is probably not an appropriate definition in the young, most of whom are naturally thin.
“Given the global trend for growing numbers of teenagers to be overweight and obese, our findings suggest that heart failure, which in this study occurred at the relatively early average age of about 47 may well become a major threat to health worldwide. This serves to underline the urgent need for action worldwide to curb the obesity epidemic.”
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) said the study confirmed an established relationship between obesity and the development of heart disease and heart failure.
Emily Reeve, senior cardiac nurse at BHF, added: “Heart failure is a growing concern in the UK as a recent BHF analysis showed the number of heart failure hospital visits has increased by more than a third in the last ten years.
“Over the past 50 years our research has helped to drastically improve survival rates from heart attack however now seven in ten people survive, many of whom are left with the devastating consequences of heart failure. We urgently need to fund more research into this cruel condition to find new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat heart failure.”
Rosengren A, Åberg M, Robertson J et al. Body weight in adolescence and long-term risk of early heart failure in adulthood among men in Sweden. European Heart Journal. June 2016. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehw125
Leave a Reply