Trends between alcohol use, smoking, and sedentary lifestyle on cardiovascular disease risk factors in young adults aged 18-25 from NHANES Dataset

Q: What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cross-Sectional. Population: Cardiovascular disease risk factors (hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes) (n=847). Intervention: Smoking (≥100 cigarettes in lifetime), alcohol use, and sedentary behavior (≥8 hours/day) vs. Varied combinations of behavioral risk factor profiles. Primary outcome: Prevalence of clinical cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol) among individuals who both smoked ≥100 cigarettes and were sedentary >8 hours/day (95% CI 1.79-65.33).

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

In young adults aged 18–25, combining lifetime smoking of at least 100 cigarettes with more than eight hours of daily sedentary behavior is associated with a 22.45% prevalence of clinical cardiovascular risk factors. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Raashi Garg

doi:10.58445/rars.4211

October 3, 2026Open Access

Trends between alcohol use, smoking, and sedentary lifestyle on cardiovascular disease risk factors in young adults aged 18-25 from NHANES Dataset

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Key result

Smoking and high sedentary time are linked to a ~22% cardiovascular risk factor prevalence in young adults.

95% CI 1.79-65.33
n=847

Why the study?

Cardiovascular studies in young adults aged 18-25 are lacking, even though early adulthood behaviors such as smoking, alcohol use, and sedentary lifestyle may impact future cardiovascular disease risk.

Does alcohol use, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle increase early cardiovascular disease risk factors in young adults aged 18-25?

Key Points

To determine the relationship between smoking, alcohol consumption, and sedentary behavior and common cardiovascular risk factors including diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol in young adults aged 18–25.
Cross-sectional survey analysis of young adults aged 18–25 using the 2021–2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset.
Assessed behavioral exposures including lifetime smoking of at least 100 cigarettes, alcohol intake in the past week, and sedentary behavior of eight or more hours daily.
Evaluated cardiovascular risk profiles across demographic groups defined by sex and race/ethnicity.
Among individuals with high cholesterol, 4.85% smoked, 4.67% drank alcohol, and 4.58% were sedentary for more than eight hours a day in the primary abstract report (table estimates: smoking 6.73% [95% CI, 1.58–17.13], alcohol 7.82% [95% CI, 2.22–18.19], and sedentary 7.42% [95% CI, 3.72–12.80]).
Among participants with hypertension (n = 37), 4.85% (95% CI, 2.78–7.71) smoked, 4.67% (95% CI, 1.26–11.30) consumed alcohol, and 4.58% (95% CI, 2.15–8.29) sat for eight or more hours daily.
The combination of lifetime smoking and sitting more than eight hours daily demonstrated the highest prevalence of clinical cardiovascular risk factors at 22.45% (95% CI, 1.79–65.33), compared to 12.4% (95% CI, 8.2–17.7) for sedentary behavior alone.

Study Design

Type

Cross-Sectional (n=847)

Multicenter

Yes

Structured PICO

Does alcohol use, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle increase early cardiovascular disease risk factors in young adults aged 18-25?

P

Population

847 young adults aged 18-25 years (49.7% female) from the United States participating in the 2021-2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

E

Exposure

Behavioral risk factors (exposure): alcohol use (in the past 12 months / past week), smoking habits (smoked at least 100 cigarettes in lifetime), and sedentary lifestyle (sitting for 8 or more hours on a typical day).

O

Outcome

Self-reported diagnosis of cardiovascular disease risk factors and conditions (hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart attack, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and angina).patient reported

This cross-sectional analysis of NHANES data shows that behavioral risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, and prolonged sedentary behavior are prevalent among US young adults aged 18–25 and co-occur with early clinical cardiovascular risk factors like high cholesterol and hypertension.

Limitations

Lack of longitudinal data prevented identification of behavioral factors as causative for cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Unable to directly demonstrate trends with cardiovascular disease itself, as the analysis only describes cross-sectional survey trends at a specific point in time.
Several demographic subgroups had denominator sample sizes below 30, resulting in reduced statistical reliability and greater sampling variability.
Inability to identify behaviors as causative to CVD risk factors due to lack of longitudinal data.
Inability to directly demonstrate trends with cardiovascular disease itself since analysis only describes a specific point in time.
Several demographic subgroups had denominator sample sizes below 30, resulting in reduced statistical reliability and increased sampling variability.

Implication

May inform lifestyle screening in young adults; hypothesis-generating for combined risks, requiring prospective confirmation before practice change.

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide.Despite it affecting people of all ages, cardiovascular studies among young adults are lacking.While mortality rates may be low for individuals aged 18-25, behavior in early adulthood may leave a lasting impact on future risk of cardiovascular disease.The goal of this paper is to determine the extent to which smoking, drinking alcohol, and having a sedentary lifestyle among young adults demonstrates trends with multiple kinds of cardiovascular risk factors.Specifically, using the 2021-2023 NHANES data set, we examined the relationship between alcohol use, smoking, and sedentary behavior to common cardiovascular risk factors, including diabetes, high cholesterol, and blood pressure.We also considered sociodemographic factors such as race and ethnicity, and gender.We found that among individuals with high cholesterol, 4.85% smoked, 4.67% drank, and 4.58% were sedentary for more than eight hours a day.These results illuminate these behaviors as potential risk factors for high cholesterol.The trend of behaviors having a large impact on the cardiovascular risk factors of an individual was followed throughout the data.This information is absolutely vital for young adults, not only to inform, but also to implement into their daily lives.While smoking, drinking, and sitting for long periods of time may not seem destructive at first, this paper shows that these behaviors may be related to cardiovascular disease, with implications for mortality.

Discussion

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Cite This Study

Raashi Garg (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiovascular disease risk factors (hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes) (n=847). Smoking (≥100 cigarettes in lifetime), alcohol use, and sedentary behavior (≥8 hours/day) vs. Varied combinations of behavioral risk factor profiles was evaluated on Prevalence of clinical cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol) among individuals who both smoked ≥100 cigarettes and were sedentary >8 hours/day (95% CI 1.79-65.33). Smoking ≥100 cigarettes combined with >8 hours/day of sedentary behavior was associated with a 22.45% prevalence of clinical cardiovascular risk factors in young adults aged 18-25.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6ae28e0ecbadf70daf6c4026 https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.4211

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Trends between alcohol use, smoking, and sedentary lifestyle on cardiovascular disease risk factors in young adults aged 18-25 from NHANES Dataset

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Limitations

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

Trends between alcohol use, smoking, and sedentary lifestyle on cardiovascular disease risk factors in young adults aged 18-25 from NHANES Dataset

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Limitations

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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