The Improvement in Ideal Cardiovascular Health over Time in the General Population

Abstract

Abstract Background CVDs are responsible for the highest number of fatalities worldwide, claiming approximately 17.9 million lives annually. Keeping a good cardiovascular health status is very important. Nevertheless, there remains a lack of clarity regarding the prevalence of ideal CVH and how it has evolved over time. Aim This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) in the general population and to examine any variations in these trends based on age and gender. Moreover, the study aims to identify the main drivers of change in ideal CVH. Method The study utilized data from the Utrecht Health Project, specifically focusing on individuals aged 18 years and above from a new residential area in the Netherlands. We use cross-sectional study design, and participants were assessed for various cardiovascular health metrics, except diet. Generalized linear models were performed to analyse the variations in cardiovascular health status over time and to investigate the relationships with age, sex, and other relevant factors. Results The distribution of cardiovascular health (CVH) categories was as follows: 19.3% were classified as having poor CVH, 71.5% fell into the intermediate CVH group, and only a small proportion of 9.2% exhibited ideal CVH. The mean cardiovascular health score increased slightly over time[61.0(0.257);62.4(0.262);62.9(0.416)], indicating an improvement in cardiovascular health status. Furthermore, the age effect is growing bigger with time flows[0(ref);0.008(-0.052,0.060);0.009(-0.067,0.080)], while female sex effect is growing smaller with time goes by[0(ref);-0.52(-1.81,0.92);-0.02(-1.84,1.75)]. Furthermore, the main driver of change in ideal CVH is education level [10.65(9.76,11.54)]. Conclusion Most people are in the intermediate group, females tend to have better CVH status than males. The cardiovascular health status in increasing over time. Age and sex have different effect with time trend, age is calm while sex is significant. People with higher education tend to have better cardiovascular health status.