180% increase in obesity-related heart disease deaths: 8 notes

Between 1999 and 2020, obesity-related heart disease deaths in the U.S. increased by 180%, according to a preliminary study to be presented at the American Heart Association's annual Scientific Sessions, set for Nov. 16-18. 

The study includes public health data of 226,267 ischemic heart disease obesity-related deaths from 1999 to 2020 reported to the CDC's Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database, according to a Nov. 11 news release from the American Heart Association.

Researchers from Providence, R.I.-based Brown University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Henry Ford Jackson (Mich.) Hospital, Detroit-based DMC Sinai Grace Hospital and King Edward Medical University in Pakistan evaluated obesity-related heart disease death rates based on demographics. 

Here are eight things to know from the study:

1. The overall rate of obesity-related heart disease deaths increased by 5.03% annually during the 21-year study period.
   
   
2. Over the study period, the death rate among men across all ages increased by 243%, rising from 2.1 to 7.2 deaths per 100,000 people. For men ages 55 to 64, the death rate increased by 165%, rising from 5.5 to 14.6 deaths per 100,000 people.
   
   
3. The death rate among women across all ages increased by 131% over the study period, rising from 1.6 to 3.7 deaths per 100,000 people.
   
   
4. The death rate was highest among Black adults, at 3.93 deaths per 100,000 people.
   
   
5. The geographical area with the highest death rate was the Midwest, which the study defined as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
   
   
6. The geographical area with the lowest death rate was the Northeast, which the study defined as Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
   
   
7. Vermont was the state with the highest death rate at 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people. Alabama had the lowest death rate, at 1.5. These findings "warrant further investigation," lead study author Aleenah Mohsin, MD, said in the AHA release.
   
   
8. In 2020, there were 4.0 deaths per 100,000 people in non-metropolitan areas, compared to 2.9 in urban areas.

Read the full news release here.