The Study
Global, regional, and national epidemiology of ischemic heart disease among individuals aged 55 and above from 1990 to 2021: a cross-sectional study
This study looked at heart disease numbers in older people around the world over 30 years and found patterns—like where heart disease is getting worse or better. But it didn’t test why—so we can’t say pollution or bad food definitely caused the changes, only that they happened together.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Heart disease is less likely to kill each person than before, but because there are so many more older people now, far more total people are dying from it — especially in poorer countries.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — even though medicine is better, aging populations and pollution/diet in poorer countries are causing more heart disease deaths overall.
- 2IHD death rates dropped 44% since 1990, but total deaths rose 70.74%.
- 3High blood pressure caused over half (53.74%) of all IHD deaths.
- 4East Asia saw the biggest rise in cases and deaths.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
BMC Public Health
Year
2025
Authors
Peng Xue, Ling Lin, Peishan Li, Songyi Cheng, Daohai Chen, Manlu Fan, Yanshuang Zhuang, Xiaohu Chen
Related Content
Claims (7)
Between 1990 and 2021, fewer people per year developed ischemic heart disease among those aged 55 and older, but the total number of cases rose sharply because the global population of older adults grew significantly.
From 1990 to 2021, the total number of deaths and years lived with disability from ischemic heart disease rose significantly in people aged 55 and older, even though the rate of disease per age group went down, because the population of older adults grew larger.
In adults aged 55 and older, high systolic blood pressure causes more deaths from ischemic heart disease than any other risk factor, responsible for over half of all such deaths globally, with the highest proportions in low- and middle-income regions.
Between 1990 and 2021, deaths and disability from ischemic heart disease went down in high-income countries but went up in low- and middle-income countries, with the largest increases seen in East Asia and the lowest-income country group.
In low- and middle-income countries, exposure to air pollution and poor diet directly results in higher rates of death from heart disease compared to high-income countries, due to greater environmental and nutritional risk exposure.
From 1990 to 2021, East Asia had the fastest growing rates of heart disease deaths, diagnoses, and overall disease burden of any region in the world.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.