Prevalence and determinants of self-reported heart disease among Indian men aged 15-54 years: Evidence from NFHS-5

Introduction: There is a scarcity of pan-India epidemiological studies examining the factors associated with self reported heart disease. Therefore, this study examined the prevalence and factors associated with self-reported heart disease in India using data from a large-scale nationally representative survey conducted in 2019-21. Data and methods: This study used data from the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) conducted during 2019-21. A cross-sectional sample of 1,01,529 men aged 15-54 years was analysed. Bivariate statistics and binary logistic regression were employed to assess the prevalence and determinants of heart disease. Result: The prevalence of self-reported heart disease among Indian men aged 15-54 was 1050 per 1,00,000 men. Men aged 40-49 (OR: 3.70, 95% CI: 2.59-5.28), 49-54 years (OR: 5.67, 95% CI: 3.92-8.19), Muslim men (OR:1.62, 95% CI: 1.32-2.00), men from rural areas (OR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.23-1.83), and southern region (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.40-2.59) had higher odds of heart disease. Men who consumed tobacco had higher odds of developing heart disease (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.95-1.33), as did those with comorbidities such as cancer (OR: 50.93, 95% CI: 35.26-73.57) and diabetes (OR: 5.06, 95% CI: 4.08-6.28). Conclusion: Several sociodemographic, geographic, biological and behavioural factors were associated with self reported heart disease among Indian men aged 15-54 years, highlighting the need for targeted public health interventions to address these risk factors. Further research is needed to develop effective strategies to reduce the burden of heart disease in India.