To examine national trends in unhealthy lifestyle factors among adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the United States (US) between 1999 and 2018.
We analyzed data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative survey of participants with CVD who were aged ≥20 years, which was conducted between 1999 and 2000 and 2017–2018. CVD was defined as a self-report of congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, or stroke. The prevalence rate of each unhealthy lifestyle factor was calculated among adults with CVD for each of the 2-year cycle surveys. Regression analyses were used to assess the impact of sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, family income, education level, marital status, and employment status).
The final sample included 5610 NHANES respondents with CVD. The prevalence rate of their current smoking status remained stable among respondents with CVD between 1999 and 2000 and 2017–2018. During the same period, there was a decreasing trend in the age-adjusted prevalence rate of poor diet [primary American Heart Association (AHA) score <20; 47.5% (37.9%–57.0%) to 37.5% (25.7%–49.3%),
There is a significant reduction in the prevalence rate of poor diet among US adults with CVD between 1999 and 2018, while the prevalence rate of obesity showed increasing trends over this period. The prevalence rate of current smoking status, sedentary behavior, and depression was either stable or showed an insignificant increase. These findings suggest that there is an urgent need for health policy interventions targeting unhealthy lifestyles among adults with CVD.