Cardiovascular risk links varied by sex and age at onset
A cohort study followed 261,291 women and 205,873 men for a median 15.4 years, finding that risk-factor links differed by age when disease began.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of women and men in UK Biobank, median 15.4 years, against men
- What changed:
- Depression had a stronger link to midlife-onset cardiovascular disease in women than men (women-to-men hazard-ratio ratio 1.25)
- Why it’s aging research:
- It bears on staying healthy in midlife and later life.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
UK Biobank’s 261,291 women and 205,873 men aged 40–70 took part in a prospective observational study of 14 potentially changeable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Hospital and death records identified coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure and cardiovascular deaths.
Over a median 15.4 years, 21,929 women and 32,781 men developed major cardiovascular disease. Smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, reduced kidney function, depression and low grip strength had stronger links to disease in women than men. These differences varied with age when disease began. Women’s stronger links stood out for low grip strength before 55, depression and high blood pressure at 55–64, and smoking and reduced kidney function at 75 or older.
Why it matters
Preventing cardiovascular disease is a concern from midlife through older age. The authors called for prevention strategies tailored to sex and age at disease onset, particularly to address premature disease in women.
Caveats
Cardiovascular cases were identified through hospital records and death registries rather than clinical examinations, and people with high blood pressure, depression or low grip strength may have had other unmeasured differences. The findings were reported in a conference abstract from adults aged 40 to 70 at enrollment, so they may not apply to younger or older people.
The paper
Institute of Public Health Sciences
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 17457
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