Long-term study shows men develop heart disease much earlier than women

A long-term US study tracking young adults for more than 30 years shows men develop heart disease up to a decade earlier than women, with cardiovascular risks diverging sharply from the mid-30s

A new long-term study suggests that men begin developing heart disease years before women, with the gap opening surprisingly early in life.

 

Titled Sex Differences in Age of Onset of Premature Cardiovascular Disease and Subtypes: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study and published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the research tracks more than 5,100 young adults for over three decades.

 

Its key finding: men reach meaningful cardiovascular disease risk around seven years earlier than women, largely due to earlier coronary heart disease, even though traditional risk factors between the sexes have become more similar over time.

What question did the study set out to answer?

For decades, doctors have known that men tend to develop coronary heart disease earlier than women. But with rising obesity, diabetes and blood pressure among women, and falling smoking rates among men, researchers wanted to know whether this age gap still exists today. They also wanted to find out whether this difference applies only to coronary heart disease, or to other conditions like stroke and heart failure as well.

 

The researchers analysed data from the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study. More than 5,100 adults aged 18 to 30 were recruited in the mid-1980s and followed until 2020. This unusually long follow-up allowed scientists to pinpoint when heart disease risk begins to diverge between men and women, rather than just noting differences later in life.

At what age do men and women start to differ in heart disease risk?

According to the study, men and women had broadly similar cardiovascular risk through their early 30s. Around age 35, however, men’s risk began to rise faster and remained higher through midlife. By the time both sexes reached a 5 per cent risk of cardiovascular disease, men had reached that threshold about seven years earlier than women.

 

The study authors said coronary heart disease explains most of the difference. Men were estimated to reach a 2 per cent incidence of coronary heart disease more than 10 years earlier than women. In contrast, stroke rates were almost identical between the sexes, while differences in heart failure appeared much later and were relatively modest during midlife.

 

The researchers stressed that this does not mean women are protected from heart disease. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in women. The study simply shows that the timing differs. Women tend to develop coronary heart disease later, but their lifetime risk is still substantial, especially after menopause. 

What does this mean for heart screening and prevention?

Most heart disease screening programmes focus on people aged 40 and above. This study suggests that may be too late, especially for men. Since risk differences emerge by the mid-30s, the researchers argue that there is a missed window for early prevention.

 

The study concludes that encouraging young men to attend preventive health visits and address risk factors earlier could make a meaningful difference to long-term heart health.

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This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.