Increased risk of Roma for 10-year development of CVDs based on Framingham Risk Score calculation

Abstract

Abstract Background Increased mortality and short life expectancy of Roma are well known epidemiological findings which can be partially explained by the high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among them. This study assesses the prevalence of the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (age, sex, systolic blood pressure, smoking and diabetes status, elevated total and reduced high density lipoprotein cholesterol level (HDL-C)) and the estimation of 10-year risk of development of CVD (CVD in general, coronary heart disease (CHD), myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke) and that of death from CHD and CVD based on the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in case of the Hungarian general (HG) and Roma (HR) populations. Methods A complex health survey incl. questionnaire based interview, physical examination and laboratory test was carried out in 2018 on the HG and HR populations. The prevalence of different cardiovascular risk factors was defined and FRS was computed and compared between the HG (n = 378) and HR (n = 386) populations. Results The prevalence of diabetes was significantly higher among Roma females compared to females of general population (17.8% vs. 7.7%; p = 0.001) while the average systolic blood pressure level was less elevated among Roma males (127.9 mmHg vs. 129.4 mmHg; p = 0.020). The prevalence of smoking (males: 63.1% vs. 33.7%; females: 67.6% vs. 31%; p < 0.001) and reduced HDL-C level (males: 40% vs. 25.9%, p = 0.014; females: 55.5% vs. 35.1%, p < 0.001) were significantly higher in both sexes among Roma. The 10-year estimated risk for development of CHD, MI and CVD and the death from CHD was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in both sexes among Roma compared to the general population while the average risk scores for stroke and death from CVD were significantly higher only among Roma men. Conclusions Our results show that both sexes in the Roma population have a significantly higher risk for 10-year development of CVD compared to the Hungarian general population. Key messages The Roma population have a significantly higher risk for 10-year development of cardiovascular diseases and death from them based on the Framingham Risk Score. The targeted cardiovascular interventions should be focus on reduce smoking and provide information on the recognition and treatment of diabetes and lipid disorders among Roma.