Prevalence and Clustering of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors among Adults Along the Lancang-Mekong River: A Cross-Sectional Study from Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Abstract

Progress in cardiovascular health is increasingly concentrated in high-income countries, while the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is high in low- and middle-income countries, a clear health inequity that must be urgently addressed. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence and clustering of CVD risk factors in the three Lancang-Mekong regions. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional survey from January 2021 to March 2023 in China, Laos, and Cambodia. We compared the prevalence and clustering of CVD risk factors-including hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, overweight/obesity, current smoking status, current drinking status, inadequate vegetable and fruit intake, and insufficient physical activity-across the three regions, further stratifying the data by gender and age. Multivariate logistic regression models were performed to explore factors influencing the aggregation of CVD risk factors (≥2, ≥3, ≥4). A total of 11,005 adults were included in the study. Hypertension emerged as the primary metabolic risk factor in Laos (36.8%) and Cambodia (23.5%), whereas overweight/obesity was the primary risk factor in China (37.6%). In terms of behavioral risk factors, participants in all three regions showed insufficient vegetable and fruit intake. The prevalence of individuals without CVD risk factors was 10% in China, 1.9% in Laos, and 5.2% in Cambodia. Meanwhile, the prevalence of two or more risk factors was 64.6% in China, 79.2% in Laos, and 76.0% in Cambodia. Multivariate logistic regression models revealed that the propensity for CVD risk factors clustering was higher in men and increased with age in all three countries. CVD risk factors and multiple clustering are pressing health threats among adults in low- and middle-income areas along the Lancang-Mekong River Basin. This study highlights the urgent need for proactive tailored strategies to control CVD risk factors.