Relevance of Cardiovascular Risk Factors Screening in People Aged over 65 Years: Results from a Large French Urban Population (The CARVAR92 Study)

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability in older people. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) still have an impact on cardiovascular risk among older people. Nevertheless, screening campaigns rarely target subjects aged over 65 years. This study aimed to assess the distribution and relevance of conventional CVRF screening in people aged over 65 years. Methods: Between 2007 and 2018, among a screening CVRF campaign in the western suburbs of Paris (32,692 subjects), we individualized 6,577 subjects aged 65 years and over. All conventional CVRFs have been systematically assessed. Results: The screening allowed to suspect hypertension in a larger proportion of subjects over 65 years compared to subjects under 65 years (27% vs. 18%, p < 0.0001). Hypertension control was higher in women compared to men but not significantly different in the age-groups (p = 0.91). Screening for diabetes mellitus was positive in 3% of older subjects and 2.4% in younger (p = 0.005). Risk assessment with dedicated score (SCORE O.P.) allowed to move toward a low-risk estimation, resulting in the diminution of intermediate risk group in women over 65 years (from 68 to 61%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Screening CVRFs especially hypertension remains relevant in people aged over 65 years as it enables to detect unknown CVRFs in numerous subjects. Increasing awareness of CVRFs may be the first step to CVRF control, which is known to be efficient on cardiovascular mortality and functional autonomy in later life.