Assessment of the 30-year Cardiovascular Risk in Cyprus

Introduction: In 2012 more than 17.5 million deaths worldwide were due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In Cyprus, CVD mortality is estimated to 2000 deaths annually. The use of cardiovascular risk assessment tools can be the basis for the creation of modern strategies for the prevention of CVDs. Aim: The main purpose of this study was to assess cardiovascular risk in healthy adults in Cyprus, aged 20 to 60 years old. Material and Methods: Τhe standard 30-year cardiovascular risk assessment tool (FRS30-BMI) and self-reported questionnaire with risk factors and demographic data were used. Data collection lasted for 9 months (August 2014 - April 2015). The final sample of the study was 775 participants from all over Cyprus. The statistical analysis was performed with the IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0, at a significance level of p<0.05. Results: In this study 43.5% (n=337) of the participants were men and 56.5% (n=438) women. From the total sample, 40.4% were smokers. The 50.2% of subjects (n=388) had a BMI above normal levels. Men had an average 30-year risk for total CVDs 30.0% (± 22.42%) and an average 30-year risk for major CVDs 20.64% (± 19.29%). Women had an average 30-year risk for total CVDs 13.78.0% (± 13.92%) and an average 30-year risk for major CVDs 7.32% (± 8.84%). Conclusions: This study is the first in the general Cypriot population. In this sample, men presented a higher cardiovascular risk.