Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesCohort study
Temporal trends of heart failure epidemic in the Rotterdam Study over three decades
- population-based Rotterdam cohort
Authors' conclusion
The prevalence of HF increased during the past decades in a population-based setting, while HF incidence declined. Hypertension and diabetes tended to become less critical risk factors for new-onset HF nowadays, while CHD, AF, and stroke showed trends toward stronger associations with HF risk over time.
Study context
- Population
- Participants of the population-based Rotterdam cohort, mean age of nearly 70 years, in three Epoch groupsEpoch 1990s (1989-1993) N=7,983 · Epoch 2000s (1997-2001) N=7,738 · Epoch 2010s (2009-2014) N=6,170
- Exposure
- Temporal trends across Epoch 1990s, Epoch 2000s and Epoch 2010s
- Epoch 1990sn = N=7,983
- Epoch 2000sn = N=7,738
- Epoch 2010sn = N=6,170
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Point prevalence of HF · baseline
- overall statistically significant upward trend
- P < 0.001
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
5-year incidence of HF per 1,000 person-years
5-year incidence of heart failure (HF) per 1,000 person-years
- downward trend
Comorbidities in HF patients · baseline
- Hypertension was the most common comorbidity in HF patients, followed by dyslipidemia and kidney dysfunction
HF risk determinants (Cox proportional hazards models)
- The association of hypertension and diabetes with risk of incident HF decreased over time
- Coronary heart disease (CHD), atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke all showed increasing hazard ratios across groups
Original publication
Temporal trends of heart failure epidemic in the Rotterdam Study over three decades. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 13 October 2026. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwag516
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it