TY - JOUR
T1 - The burden of behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular disease in Europe. A significant prevention deficit
AU - Vassilaki, Maria
AU - Linardakis, Manolis
AU - Polk, Donna M.
AU - Philalithis, Anastas
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - Objective: The study objective was to assess the burden of major cardiovascular disease (CVD) behavioral risk factors (BRFs) (i.e., smoking, excess body weight, physical inactivity, risky alcohol consumption) among individuals in the community with and without CVD history. Methods: For the current study, a subset of the data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) was analyzed, which were collected from 26,743 individuals aged 50 + years old, during the 1st wave of SHARE in 2004/05 in eleven European countries. Results: Among those with CVD, there is a statistically significant higher percentage of inactive individuals (81.4% vs. 69.5 among those without CVD), and of individuals with excess body weight (64.3%) or obese (21.6%). Patients with CVD had a lower prevalence of smoking and risky alcohol consumption in most countries, whereas the prevalence of high body weight and physical inactivity was higher in CVD patients compared to individuals without CVD in almost all countries. More than half of the population has at least two BRFs, with a significantly higher prevalence of multiple BRFs among those diagnosed with CVD. Conclusion: Study findings suggest that a significant burden of behavioral risk factors for CVD remains in the population overall but also among patients diagnosed with CVD. Given the significant prevalence of BRFs, the prevention benefits would be immense for all stakeholders involved and negligence would be perilous.
AB - Objective: The study objective was to assess the burden of major cardiovascular disease (CVD) behavioral risk factors (BRFs) (i.e., smoking, excess body weight, physical inactivity, risky alcohol consumption) among individuals in the community with and without CVD history. Methods: For the current study, a subset of the data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) was analyzed, which were collected from 26,743 individuals aged 50 + years old, during the 1st wave of SHARE in 2004/05 in eleven European countries. Results: Among those with CVD, there is a statistically significant higher percentage of inactive individuals (81.4% vs. 69.5 among those without CVD), and of individuals with excess body weight (64.3%) or obese (21.6%). Patients with CVD had a lower prevalence of smoking and risky alcohol consumption in most countries, whereas the prevalence of high body weight and physical inactivity was higher in CVD patients compared to individuals without CVD in almost all countries. More than half of the population has at least two BRFs, with a significantly higher prevalence of multiple BRFs among those diagnosed with CVD. Conclusion: Study findings suggest that a significant burden of behavioral risk factors for CVD remains in the population overall but also among patients diagnosed with CVD. Given the significant prevalence of BRFs, the prevention benefits would be immense for all stakeholders involved and negligence would be perilous.
KW - Behavioral risk factors
KW - Cardiovascular disease
KW - Prevalence
KW - SHARE study
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.09.024
DO - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.09.024
M3 - Article
C2 - 26441302
AN - SCOPUS:84944908147
SN - 0091-7435
VL - 81
SP - 326
EP - 332
JO - Preventive Medicine
JF - Preventive Medicine
ER -