Early heart disease risk differs across South Asian groups
South Asian men had a two-fold higher premature coronary artery disease risk than White men over a median 4.2 years of follow-up.
Limit: Socioeconomic deprivation partially explained excess risk and entirely accounted for Bangladeshi women's risk
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In a retrospective cohort study, researchers analyzed 14,821,240 adults in England aged 18 to 45 who were free of coronary artery disease at baseline. They linked primary care records with hospital and mortality data from 2004 to 2024. Over a median follow-up of 4.2 years, 15,989 people experienced a first heart attack or revascularization, a procedure to restore blood flow.
South Asian men had a two-fold higher risk of premature disease than White men, with higher risks in Bangladeshi and Pakistani men than Indian men. South Asian women had a 22% higher risk than White women, whereas Black women had a 28% lower risk. Risk was higher in Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, but Indian women had a lower risk than White women. Black men also had a lower risk than White men. Socioeconomic deprivation was partly linked to excess risk in Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups.
Why it matters
Early-onset coronary artery disease carries decades of treatment burden. The findings support targeted prevention that considers South Asian subgroup, sex and socioeconomic context rather than broad ethnic groupings.
Caveats
As an observational study using electronic health records, the analysis cannot establish cause. The findings apply to adults aged 18 to 45 in England without coronary artery disease at baseline and may not apply to older populations or other healthcare settings.
