Obesity-related CVD deaths tripled, highest for Black women

A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association revealed that heart disease is linked to fewer deaths among Americans in general, but CV deaths with obesity as a primary factor tripled between 1999 and 2020.

Among all the demographic groups studied, Black women experienced the highest mortality rate.

Researchers assessed data on CVD deaths in which obesity was listed as a contributing factor, which included death certificate medical codes for heart failure, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, and other forms of heart disease. They used data gathered on 281,135 deaths between 1999 and 2020 from the Multiple Cause of Death database. The most common cause of death was ischemic heart disease among all groups, followed by hypertensive disease. Obesity-related CV death rates tripled from 2.2 per 100,000 people to 6.6 per 100,000 during the study period, the researchers found.

Mortality adjusted for age was highest among Black individuals (11.6 per 100,000 people in 2020), followed by American Indian adults or Alaska Native adults (6.7 per 100,000).

Apart from Black women, men experienced more obesity-related CV deaths in all other racial groups. The study authors cited previous research to suggest that a leading factor was psychosocial stressors stemming from microaggressions despite receiving care.