The fourth decade of life: the age for preventive strategies?

Background Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have been on the health agenda for decades. As the 2020's decade sets in, most of the set health strategies and targets are ending while new goals are expected. Investigating a European country hub known for its high prevalence of NCDs provides evidence-based data that can be used for these new strategies. The aim was to explore potential NCDs trends and associations that could provide evidence for new preventive strategies and goals. Methods Data was obtained from a national representative cross-sectional study through a health examination survey (2014-6). The self-reported data and the results of the examination were used to diagnose participants with type 2 diabetes, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, overweight and obesity. The study population was stratified by ten years and sex for both descriptive and analytic analyses. Results The male population was significantly more metabolically unhealthy that the female counterparts across all age groups (p = <0.01). The females had the highest newly diagnosed diabetes prevalence across all age groups. It was observed that type 2 diabetes, dyslipidaemia and hypertension were present as of the 30-39 years group. Conversely, on binary multiple logistic regression analysis, this age group was negatively associated with NCDs even after adjusting for confounders (Diabetes OR:0.06 CI95%:0.02-0.21 p = <0.01; hypertension OR: 0.16 CI 95%: 0.05-0.55 p = <0.01; overweight OR: 0.21 CI 95%: 0.11 - 0.40 p = <0.01). Conclusions The fourth decade of life might be the starting point for metabolic dysregulation. Hence, subject to long-term health and economic burdens, with a potential extension of the metabolic impact on their offspring. Although further research is recommended, this study sets the ball rolling whether preventive action including screening for dysglycaemia and dyslipidaemia should be implemented at a population level from a young age. Key messages Preventive action should start from fourth decade of life. Targeting the fourth decade of life would also ensure a healthier new generation.