Differences in Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence ID”d for South Asian Adults

TUESDAY, Feb. 17, 2026 (HealthDay News) — At age 45 years, South Asian adults have significant differences in cardiovascular risk factor prevalence compared with other U.S. racial and ethnic groups, according to a study published online Feb. 11 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Havisha Pedamallu, from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues combined longitudinal data from all eligible participants in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis cohort studies to estimate the prevalence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk factors at ages 45 and 55 years.

The researchers found that South Asian individuals had the highest prevalence of prediabetes and hypertension compared with White, Chinese, and Hispanic individuals at age 45 years. The prevalence of dyslipidemia was higher among South Asian men than White, Chinese, and Black men, while prevalence was higher for South Asian women compared with Chinese and Black women. Among all racial and ethnic groups, South Asian adults had the highest estimated hazard probability of diabetes at age 55 years. At older ages, clinical risk factor prevalence increased in all racial and ethnic groups, while diet quality and exercise improved.

“The earlier accumulation of health conditions that increase the chance of heart disease among U.S. South Asian adults signals the need for earlier screening, tailored prevention, and prompt risk-factor management,” senior author Namratha Kandula, M.D., M.P.H., also from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a statement.

Abstract/Full Text