Coronary artery disease in the young in the US population-based cohort

Although most prevalent in the elderly, coronary artery disease (CAD) also affects younger adults. However, CAD in young adults is not as well characterized.

To explore factors associated with CAD in young patients.

We investigated the prevalence and baseline characteristics of young patients with CAD using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) survey between 1999 and 2016. The primary outcome was a reported history of CAD at age <55 years old, defined based on the subject's response to survey questions 'Have you ever been told by a physician that you had coronary artery disease?' and 'How old were you when were told you had coronary heart disease?'. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess factors associated with CAD in young patients.

Of 42,038 NHANES participants, 707 (1.7%) reported CAD at young age. Young patients with CAD were more likely to be male, non-whites, cigarette smokers, recreational drug users, had a family history of CAD, compared to young patients without CAD (all p-values <0.05). In multivariable logistic regression models, diabetes (OR: 3.94; 95% CI: 1.32-11.8; P=0.01), cigarette smoking (OR: 2.86; 95% CI: 1.52-5.53; P=0.001), alcohol consumption (OR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.04-1.35; P=0.01) and cocaine use (OR: 4.48; 95% CI: 1.33-15.1; P=0.01) were independently associated with CAD in young patients.

CAD in young patients may be influenced by lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption or cocaine use, as well as conventional risk factors such as smoking or diabetes.