Rising health vulnerability linked to heart and blood vessel disease

In 16,072 UK Biobank participants, researchers examined health vulnerability and cardiovascular disease, which affects the heart and blood vessels. This observational cohort study assessed vulnerability, a measure combining physical, psychological and social factors, in 2006–2010 and again in 2014. Follow-up began at the first assessment.

Researchers identified 3,033 new cardiovascular disease events over a median 8.9 years. After adjusting for other factors, they linked rising vulnerability to higher disease risk than consistently low vulnerability. Consistently elevated vulnerability was also associated with higher risk, with a hazard ratio of 1.18. The strength of the associations differed by age and smoking status. The main findings remained consistent in additional analyses.