Trends in cardiac conduction disorder–associated mortality among young adults in the United States, 2010–2020

Background: Cardiac Conduction Disorders (CCDs) in young adults aged 25–44 years represent an important and poorly investigated condition associated with death. Objective: We assessed trends in CCD-associated mortality in the United States (US) from 2010 to 2020 among young adults to determine differences by sex, ethno-racial groups, urbanization, census region, and underlying causes of death. Methods: Mortality data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database, covering the period from 2010 to 2020. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) were analyzed using joinpoint regression modeling and presented as the estimated average annual percentage change (AAPC), along with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results: In the US, between 2010 and 2020, 4312 US young adults aged between 25 and 44 years died from CCD, equating to a rate of 10.9 deaths per 1000 population. The relative AAMR increased with a seemingly exponential distribution (AAPC: +10.7%; 95% CI: 9.1–12.3; P < .001), without sex differences. Furthermore, the AAMR increase was more pronounced in white patients. The AAMR has similarly increased in both urban and rural areas. Higher absolute numbers of CCDs were clustered in the South (45.1%). The most common underlying causes of mortality in US young adults dying from CCD were cardiomyopathies (11.4%), sepsis (6.0%), myocardial infarction (5.9%), pulmonary embolism (4.7%), and poisoning by drugs, medicaments, and biological substances (4.5%). Conclusion: CCD-associated mortality among young adults has increased over the last decade in the US, with notable racial and regional disparities.