Longevity & AgingGlobal Cardiovascular Risk Factors Set to Surge Through 2050 Despite Better Management
Using Global Burden of Disease 2021 data, researchers projected the burden of five major modifiable cardiovascular risk factors — high systolic blood pressure, high fasting plasma glucose, high BMI, high LDL cholesterol, and tobacco use — from 2025 to 2050. While age-standardized DALY rates are expected to decline across all five risk factors, reflecting improved disease management, crude DALYs will rise substantially due to population growth and aging. High SBP will remain the dominant contributor, and high BMI will see the steepest proportional increase. These findings underscore an urgent need for targeted, region- and age-specific cardiovascular prevention strategies, particularly in low-to-middle SDI regions where the burden is rising fastest.
