Getting majorly sick is for older people like your parents, right? Think again.
It happens to young and old alike.
You can get diagnosed with cancer in your 40s just as if you’re in your 60s. Strokes and heart attacks? They won’t discriminate either and affect younger adults as well as older ones.
What are the chances of critical illness happening to you?
What’s in this article
- What’s a critical illness?
- What are your chances of developing cancer?
- What are your chances of having a heart attack?
- What are your chances of having a stroke?
- What are your chances of Alzheimer’s disease?
What's a critical illness?
A critical illness is a life-threatening condition that affects your organs, which could lead to “imminent or life-threatening deterioration in the patient’s condition.”1Examples of critical illness include cancer, heart attacks, and strokes. All can have serious effects on your health and your day-to-day living.
What are your chances of developing cancer?
Your chances of developing cancer increase as you get older, but the disease doesn’t know any boundaries when it comes to age.While the median age for cancer to be diagnosed is 66, nearly 44% of new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in people under 65 while almost 20% for those under 55.2
New cases of cancer by age group (any site)3
| Age range (years) | Percent of new case of cancer |
| <20 | 1.0% |
| 20–34 | 2.7% |
| 35–44 | 4.8% |
| 45–54 | 11.3% |
| 55–64 | 24.1% |
| 65–74 | 29.7% |
| 75–84 | 18.7% |
| >84 | 7.7% |
When it comes to specific kinds of cancer, however, who’s affected and at what age differs.
For instance, for children under 14, the most common kinds of diagnosed critical illness cancers are leukemias, brain and other central nervous system (CNS) tumors, and lymphomas.4
For those under 20, bone cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and makes up a quarter of all cases overall.5
For young adults between 15-39, breast and thyroid cancer are estimated to be the most diagnosed followed by testis and melanoma of the skin.6
But your gender also affects your chances of getting cancer.
For men, the most common cancers are prostate, lung, and colorectal, while it’s lung, breast, and colorectal for women.7
What are recent trends in cancer rates for younger adults?
Overall, the risk of dying from cancer has dropped. But the number of diagnosed cancers has risen. Why? It boils down to two reasons: more people are aging and more are getting positive tests for cancer, especially six of the 10 most common kinds of cancer.8Those six cancers are breast, prostate, endometrial, pancreatic, kidney, and melanoma.9
What about younger adults? More of them under 50 are getting positive cancer diagnoses.10
Colorectal cancer and cervical cancer rates are on the rise for this group.
Colorectal cancer went from the fourth leading cause of cancer death for men and women in the 1990s to the leading cause for men and second for women in 2020.11
Meanwhile, rates of cervical cancer have risen for women between 30 to 44.12
What are your chances of having a heart attack?
There are several factors that could increase your chance of having a heart attack.First is age. The older you are, the higher your chance of having a heart attack.
That said, heart attacks aren’t limited to 66 for men or 72 for women, which are national averages.13
One 2019 study found that for younger adults under 50, one in five had a heart attack at 40 or younger.14
The study’s senior author, Ron Blankstein, said to the American College of Cardiology, “It used to be incredibly rare to see anyone under age 40 come in with a heart attack—and some of these people are now in their 20s and early 30s.”15
Another study done during the COVID-19 Pandemic found the rate of heart attack dates increased almost 305% for adults between 25 to 44.16
Other factors that could increase your chance of having a heart attack include pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, a family history of heart attacks, an autoimmune condition, or a history of preeclampsia.17
Lifestyle choices that could affect you are smoking, lack of exercise, an unhealthy diet, stress, or illegal drug use.18
What are your chances of having a stroke?
Every year, hundreds of thousands in the United States have a stroke, occurring every 40 seconds.19Like cancer and heart attacks, your chance of having a stroke increases as you get older, doubling as a critical illness every 10 years after you turn 55.20
What if you’re younger than 55?
One in seven of the most common kinds of stroke, ischemic (a restriction of blood flow to a certain part of the body), occurs for people between 15 to 49.21
Why is this? Experts speculate it has to do with the rise of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes among people.
Besides age and other risk factors like your family history, gender, or race and ethnicity, lifestyle choices can also affect your chances of having a stroke.
Lifestyle choices like drinking too much or using illegal drugs have been found to have a connection with higher risk of a critical illness stroke. Poor mental health, anxiety or depression may also contribute. Living or working in an area with air pollution is another factor to watch out for.22
What are your chances of having Alzheimer’s disease?
Like other critical illness, your chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease increases as you get older. But gender plays a role in it too.Women have a higher lifetime risk of getting Alzheimer’s than men. (At 45, women have about a 20% chance of Alzheimer’s while men have about a 10% chance.23)
Why is that? The biggest reason is that women live longer than men.24
What else contributes to risk of a critical illness like Alzheimer’s?
A family history of the disease and genetics have been found to play a role in whether or not you’re diagnosed with it.
Studies have also shown a connection between heart health and brain health.25
So, if you’re obese, have high blood pressure, or are diabetic, that could lead to increased risk of Alzheimer’s. Smoking, a lack of physical activity, and a poor diet have also been found to affect heart health and thus, brain health.
Next steps
Knowing that you could have a critical illness at any age, how do you protect yourself?
While genetics and family history can play a big part in your risk for cancer, heart attack, or stroke, the choices you make daily do too.
Choosing to eat healthy foods and avoiding the ones stuffed with saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol is one smart move. Add fruits and vegetables to your diet along with fish, chicken, and other sources of healthy fats.
Another good next step is to exercise and be physically active.
Avoid tobacco and refrain or cut down on alcohol.
Take care of your mental health too. Socialize with friends and family and find other outlets for stress.
Consult with your doctor as well. Your healthcare professionals will be able to advise you and help craft a personal plan for healthy living.
Critical illness can happen at any time and to anyone. But it doesn’t mean you have to let it happen to you without doing anything.
