Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and 10-Years Risk for Coronary Heart Disease in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Background: In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality, and the incidence of premature coronary heart diseases (CHDs) is about 10-15 years earlier than that in people of western countries.

Aim: The current cross-sectional study aims to describe the prevalence of CVD risk factors and estimate the 10-years risk for CHDs in the population of Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Objective: The main objective was to report the 10-years risk for CHD in a sample of the UAE population.

Methods: We have analyzed the dataset from the Abu Dhabi Screening Program for Cardiovascular Risk Markers (AD-SALAMA), a population-based cross-sectional survey conducted between 2009 and 2015 (a sample of 1002, 20 to 79 years old without CVDs or diabetes).

Results: 18.0% of our sample have had hypertension (HTN), 26.3% were current smokers, 33% have had total cholesterol ≥200 mg/dL, 55.0% have had non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) levels ≥130 mg/dL, 33.1% have had low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels ≥130 mg/dL, calculated by β-quantification as 112.3 ± 47.1 mg/dL. 66.8% were overweight or obese, and 46.2% had a sedentary lifestyle. Nearly 85% of our sample has had one or more major cardiovascular risk factors. The estimated 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease according to different risk assessment tools was as follows: 7.1% according to the national cholesterol education program Framingham risk score (FRAM-ATP), 2.9% according to Pooled Cohort Risk Assessment Equation (PCRAE) , 1.4% according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III), and 1.1% according to Reynolds Risk Score. Despite the fact that our sample population have had exhibited major risk factors, the above-mentioned international scoring systems underestimate the 10-year risk of cardiovascular diseases, given the high prevalence at younger ages.

Conclusion: The proportion of modifiable risk factors has been found to be high in the UAE population, and the majority of them have had one or more risk factors with a higher 10-years risk for CHDs.

Keywords: 10-years risk for coronary heart diseases (CHDs); Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs); cardiovascular risk factors; coronary artery disease (CAD); hypertension; prevalence.