Background:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been the number one cause of death and disability in the US and globally for decades, and its comorbidity complicates the management of CVD. However, little is known about the secular trend of CVD comorbidities in national representative populations in the last 20 years.
Methods:
Prevalence of CVD and nine major chronic comorbidities was estimated using data from 1,324,214 adults aged 18 years and older in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 1997 through 2016, with age-standardized to the U.S. population in the year 2000.
Results:
CVD prevalence in the US adult population significantly declined in the past twenty years (from 6.6% in 1997 to 5.9% in 2016, P
trend
<0.01in Figure a). And such trend was shown in women and whites (P
trend
<0.01), but not in men and blacks (P
trend
>0.05). We ranked the nine major chronic comorbidities (high to low) in the CVD patients (Figure b.), including (1) hypertension, (2) respiratory conditions, (3) nervous system conditions, (4) digestive conditions, (5) diabetes, (6) cancer, (7) genitourinary conditions, (8) circulatory conditions, and (9) endocrine/nutritional/metabolic conditions. From 1997 to 2016, the prevalence of CVD comorbidities including hypertension (38.8% to 50.2%), digestive conditions (17.0% to 27.1%), diabetes (10.0% to 19.2%), cancer (9.4% to 12.8%), and genitourinary conditions (4.1% to 5.2%) continuingly increased (all P
trend
<0.01), while respiratory conditions declined (35.9% to 27.6%, P
trend
<0.01). Similar trends of CVD comorbidities were observed among subgroups stratified by gender or by race.
Conclusions:
CVD prevalence in the U.S. adults have declined significantly in the past two decades, but rates of CVD comorbidities including hypertension, digestive conditions, diabetes, cancer, and genitourinary conditions increased substantially.
Moderation of classic social psychological effects by demographics in the U.S. adult population: New opportunities for theoretical advancement.