TORONTO, Jul 21, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Cardiovascular disease is declining
in Canada overall, but it is increasing in adults under age 50 of lower
socioeconomic status, researchers said.
The researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Center at Toronto General Hospital
studied national trends in heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and
smoking prevalence from 1994-2005.
The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found the
prevalence of heart disease and diabetes is rising fastest among Canadians of
lower socioeconomic status. However, the prevalence of hypertension and obesity
is increasing in nearly all Canadians, but is rising fastest in those with
higher incomes.
"Our results indicate that young people are increasingly bearing the burden of
cardiovascular risk factors," Dr. Douglas Lee, a cardiologist at the Institute
for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, said in a statement. "Earlier onset of
cardiovascular disease means potentially longer and more intense treatment over
their lifetime."
"These trends are quite different from the United States where some risk factors
such as hypertension are declining," Lee said.
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