The prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors in a rural population of the Chui region of Kyrgyzstan: The results of an epidemiological study

Objective: To study the prevalence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors (RFs) in the rural population of the Chui region of Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia).

Methods: The sample was representative of the population in terms of age and sex and included at least 10% of the population aged 18-65 y. Of the 1,672 people included in the cohort, 1.330 people responded to the invitation (79.5% of the total sample population). All study participants were interviewed using standardized questionnaires and examined by a cardiologist. Blood pressure (BP), weight, height, waist circumference (WC), fasting serum glucose, and fasting lipid level were measured.

Results: The prevalence of major CV RFs in the examined sample was as follows: arterial hypertension 34.1%, obesity 25.7%, and abdominal obesity 52.3%; the factors were significantly more prevalent in women (68.2%) and increased with age. The frequency of lipid metabolism disorders was 88.4% in the examined subjects, and an increased level of low-density cholesterol (70.5%) was common. Hypodynamia was detected in 15.6% of the subjects, diabetes mellitus in 3.76%, and a family history of cardiovascular disease was present in 34.8% of the examined subjects. The frequency of smoking was 24.6% and was significantly higher in men (46.9%).

Conclusion: Abdominal obesity, followed by hypercholesterolemia and arterial hypertension were the most common RFs among the rural population of the Chui region of Kyrgyzstan. Smoking was the most common RF among men. The prevalence of traditional CV RFs, except smoking, increased with age.