Risk Factors in Young Adults with First Myocardial Infarction

Modifiable risk factors (RFs) play an important role in the development and prognosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study sought to study the prevalence rates of modifiable RFs during a first AMI, and sex differences in Tunisian young adults. This was a retrospective cohort analysis of a Tunisian tertiary center. From January 2014 to December 2020, we retrospectively studied data of patients with AMI younger than 45 years of age hospitalized for a first AMI. Prevalence rates of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, smoking, dyslipidemia, and drug abuse were analyzed in these patients. We enrolled 210 patients in the study. The prevalence of AMI in young patients was 8.5%. The mean age was 39.3 ± 4.9 years with a sex ratio of 11. The most frequent cardiovascular risk factors were smoking (88,6%) and dyslipidemia (32%) were the most prevalent risk factors (RF), and 98.6% of patients had at least 1 RF. Hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and drug abuse had a prevalence respectively of 30%, 28%, 8%, and 7.6%. Women had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obesity, and men had a higher prevalence of dyslipidemia, drug abuse, and smoking. During a first AMI in young adults in whom preventive measures are more likely to be effective, modifiable RFs were highly prevalent and progressively increased over time. Significant sex disparities were observed for individual RFs.