Abstract
Background:The ideal cardiovascular health index (CVHI) is a measure to summarize cardiovascular (CV) health, and includes smoking, body-mass index, physical activity, blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol, and diet.Objective:This study aimed to assess CV health using the CVHI and determinants on CV health in a rural African population, and correlate carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), a surrogate marker for atherosclerosis, with CVHI.Methods:A cross-sectional analysis was performed on baseline data of the Ndlovu Cohort Study, located in rural South Africa. CVHI score (CVHIs) was calculated by the sum of favourable CVHI factors (range 0 to 7). Logistic regression was performed to examine the association of age, sex, HIV-status, education level, employment status, and income with good CV health (5–7 favourable health factors). Mean CIMT was displayed by poor, intermediate and good CV health.Results:The study included 1927 participants with a mean age of 38.7 years (SD ± 12.8). Of the factors contributing to the CVHI, glucose and total cholesterol scored best; diet least good. Average CVHIs for the population was 4.4 (SD ± 1.2) and 53% of the population had a good CV health. Determinants associated with good CV health were younger age, higher educational attainment, and HIV positivity. CVHIs showed good agreement with CIMT.Conclusion:CVHIs showed that more than half of the participants had a good CV health. Agreement between CVHIs and CIMT indicates potential use of CVHIs as a surrogate marker for CV risk. The study highlights the importance of education for health promotion; good CV health in HIV-positive participants may in part be attributed to more frequent health care contact and provision of chronic disease care.HighlightsGood cardiovascular health (CVH) was observed in 53% of the study population.In global comparison, rural African study participants showed a good CVH score.HIV positivity was associated with a good CVH score.CVH score showed good agreement with carotid intima-media thickness.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death globally, causing 31% of all global deaths in 2016 [1]
This study aims to assess the Cardiovascular Health Index (CVHI) of a rural South African population and to investigate determinants of the CVHI
A total of 1927 participants were included in this study, of which 887 were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive (46.0%)
Summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death globally, causing 31% of all global deaths in 2016 [1]. The Ideal Cardiovascular Health Index (CVHI) is used by the American Heart Association (AHA) as a tool to summarize cardiovascular health (CVH), and amalgamate traditional risk factors for CVD including smoking, overweight, high glucose, high total cholesterol, high blood pressure, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity [4]. The ideal cardiovascular health index (CVHI) is a measure to summarize cardiovascular (CV) health, and includes smoking, body-mass index, physical activity, blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol, and diet. Logistic regression was performed to examine the association of age, sex, HIV-status, education level, employment status, and income with good CV health (5–7 favourable health factors). Determinants associated with good CV health were younger age, higher educational attainment, and HIV positivity. The study highlights the importance of education for health promotion; good CV health in HIV-positive participants may in part be attributed to more frequent health care contact and provision of chronic disease care
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