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. 2020 Oct 7;10(10):e040815.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040815.

Incidence of sudden cardiac death in the young: a systematic review

Keith Couper  1   2 , Oliver Putt  3 , Richard Field  2 , Kurtis Poole  3 , William Bradlow  4 , Aileen Clarke  3 , Gavin D Perkins  3   2 , Pamela Royle  3 , Joyce Yeung  3   2 , Sian Taylor-Phillips  3
Affiliations

Incidence of sudden cardiac death in the young: a systematic review

Keith Couper et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: To summarise studies describing incidence of sudden cardiac death in a general population of young individuals to inform screening policy.

Design: Systematic review.

Data sources: Database searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane library (all inception to current) on 29 April 2019 (updated 16 November 2019), and forward/backward citation tracking of eligible studies.

Study eligibility criteria: All studies that reported incidence of sudden cardiac death in young individuals (12-39 years) in a general population, with no restriction on language or date. Planned subgroups were incidence by age, sex, race and athletic status (including military personnel).

Data extraction: Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility, extracted study data and assessed risk of bias using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist for prevalence studies.

Analysis: Reported incidence of sudden cardiac death in the young per 100 000 person-years.

Results: 38 studies that reported incidence across five continents. We identified substantial heterogeneity in population, sudden cardiac death definition, and case ascertainment methods, precluding meta-analysis. Median reported follow-up years was 6.97 million (IQR 2.34 million-23.70 million) and number of sudden cardiac death cases was 64 (IQR 40-251). In the general population, the median of reported incidence was 1.7 sudden cardiac death per 100 000 person-years (IQR 1.3-2.6, range 0.75-11.9). Most studies (n=14, 54%) reported an incidence between one and two cases per 100 000 person-years. Incidence was higher in males and older individuals.

Conclusions: This systematic review identified variability in the reported incidence of sudden cardiac death in the young across studies. Most studies reported an incidence between one and two cases per 100 000 person-years.

Prospero registration number: CRD42019120563.

Keywords: adult cardiology; cardiac epidemiology; epidemiology; paediatric cardiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure at www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf and declare: KC, KP, AC, PR, GP, JY, ST-P received financial support from Public Health England for the rapid review on which this review was based; no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years; KC, JY and GP have volunteer roles with the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, European Resuscitation Council and Resuscitation Council UK.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow chart of study selections. SCD, sudden cardiac death.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of bias assessment.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Incidence of sudden cardiac death in general population. Range following study name indicates population age range.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Incidence of sudden cardiac death in general population-sex subgroups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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