Abstract
BackgroundMost European countries are ethnically and culturally diverse. Globally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death. The major risk factors for CVD have been well established. This picture holds true for all regions of the world and in different ethnic groups. However, the prevalence of CVD and related risk factors vary among ethnic groups.MethodsThis article provides a review of current understanding of the epidemiology of vascular disease, principally coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and related risk factors among populations of Sub-Sahara African descent (henceforth, African descent) in comparison with the European populations in Europe.ResultsCompared with European populations, populations of African descent have an increased risk of stroke, whereas CHD is less common. They also have higher rates of hypertension and diabetes than European populations. Obesity is highly prevalent, but smoking rate is lower among African descent women. Older people of African descent have more favourable lipid profile and dietary habits than their European counterparts. Alcohol consumption is less common among populations of African descent. The rate of physical activity differs between European countries. Dutch African-Suriname men and women are less physically active than the White-Dutch whereas British African women are more physically active than women in the general population. Literature on psychosocial stress shows inconsistent results.ConclusionHypertension and diabetes are highly prevalent among African populations, which may explain their high rate of stroke in Europe. The relatively low rate of CHD may be explained by the low rates of other risk factors including a more favourable lipid profile and the low prevalence of smoking. The risk factors are changing, and on the whole, getting worse especially among African women. Cohort studies and clinical trials are therefore needed among these groups to determine the relative contribution of vascular risk factors, and to help guide the prevention efforts. There is a clear need for intervention studies among these populations in Europe.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death [1]
This article provides a review of current understanding of the epidemiology of vascular disease, (principally coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke), related risk factors, possible causes and management, and critical gaps of knowledge among populations of Africa populations in Europe
Very little information was available on additional indicators of ethnicity, including migration history and length of stay in the residing country. This type of information is necessary to obtain more insight into the background of the patterns of ethnic differences, including issues such as the way these differences develop with increasing length of stay. This outline clearly indicates that hypertension and diabetes are higher in populations of African descent than in their European counterparts, which may contribute to the high rate of stroke among these populations in Europe
Summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death [1]. This is so in Europe, where CVD has continued to maintain its lead for several decades [1], and this is reflected in Europe's multi-ethnic populations [2]. The experiences of CVD mortality, morbidity and risk factors vary hugely among ethnic groups [2,3,4,5,6]. This is creating challenges for public health, epidemiology and clinical care. Populations of sub-Saharan African descent ( African descent) are at an increased risk of developing stroke compared with European descent populations ( White) [2,3,4]. The patterning of these health inequalities is complex. The prevalence of CVD and related risk factors vary among ethnic groups
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