Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Novel and Traditional Risk Factors in Middle Eastern Young Women. The ANCORS-YW Study

Background: There is paucity of data on the prevalence of novel and traditional cardiovascular risk factors in young women with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in the Middle East. We sought to evaluate clinical profiles and prevalence of novel and traditional risk factors in Middle Eastern young women with ASCVD compared with age-matched controls.

Methods: Women 18-50 years of age who have ASCVD were enrolled and each was aged-matched with two women with no ASCVD. Prevalence of novel and traditional risk factors was compared in the two groups. Multivariable analyzes examined the independent association of 16 factors with ASCVD.

Results: Of 627 young women enrolled mean age 44.1 ± 5.2 years; 209 had ASCVD and 418 served as controls. Women with ASCVD had significantly higher prevalence of five of the studied traditional risk factors (hypertension, type 2 diabetes [T2D], smoking, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol serum levels, and family history of premature ASCVD [FHx]) than women with no ASCVD. Additionally, of the 11 novel and psychosocial risk factors studied, four showed significantly higher prevalence in young women with ASCVD (preterm delivery, hypertensive disease of pregnancy gestational diabetes, and low level of education). Multivariable analyzes showed hypertension, T2D, smoking, FHx, persistent weight gain after pregnancy and low level of education were independently associated with ASCVD.

Conclusions: In this study of young Middle Eastern women; traditional risk factors as well as persistent weight gain after pregnancy were more prevalent in women with ASCVD compared with controls.The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, unique identifier number NCT04975503.