The Burden of Modifiable Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Population of Central Italy: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: By the mid-20th century, cardiovascular disease (CVD) had become an important cause of mortality and morbidity in developed countries. The aim was to set up a pilot study to screen citizens aged 45–59 in order to identify modifiable risk factors (RFs). Methods: Our study was conducted from February 2019 to February 2020 on citizens of a population of central Italy, aged 45–59, contacted by letter. The variables evaluated were lipid profile, glycemia, anthropometric parameters, lifestyle and utility of screening. Results: It is important to underline that from the comparison with Italian national data, our results showed that blood pressure and lipid profile had better values. On the contrary, there were some alarm bells: a high percentage (57%) of smokers (63.9 in men and 37.1 in women), a sedentary lifestyle (24.5%), and a significantly higher waist circumference than the reference cut-offs for both men and women. The organization of the screening was considered excellent by 56.3% of women and 48.4% of men, and good by 37.5% of women and 46.5% of men. Conclusions: Our study provides a picture to stakeholders of the state of the health of citizens in the area under study, in the immediate pre-pandemic period; however, it is important to underline that their state of health may be modified after the pandemic period. Furthermore, cardiovascular (CV) screening was perceived by the citizens to be important for health care.

Genetic, lifestyle and metabolic factors contributing to cardiovascular disease in the Italian population: a literature review

“…Prevalence of abnormal cholesterol was higher among individuals aged 45–64 years (55% 200–240 mg/dL; 18% >240 mg/dL), and considering this age group the prevalence was higher in women than in men (77% vs. 62%) ( 58 ). Another study conducted between 2019 and 2020 involving subjects of a similar age range (45–59 y) from a population in central Italy, evidenced that both total cholesterol/HDL ratio (4.1 ± 1.1. vs. 3.5 ± 1.1) and triglycerides were higher in men than in women (129.1 ± 91.6 vs. 105.4 ± 62.8 mg/dL) ( 59 ). According to the 2008–2012 HES within the CUORE Project of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, among 8,141 Italian subjects aged 35–74 years, 35.8% had hypercholesterolemia (34.7% of men and 36.8% of women) ( 1 ).…”