Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Migrants Participating in the PEP Family Heart Study, Nuremberg

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of cardiovascularrisk factors in adults and their children from the 3 majorgroups of migrants participating in the PEP Family Heart Study 11 andto compare the cardio-metabolic risk profiles between migrants andGerman participants.Methods: In this community-based cross-sectional study, anthropometricdata, blood pressure and lipid profiles of migrants (480 children,363 adults) from Turkey (TUR), Eastern Europe (EEU) and Germanimmigrants from the former Soviet Union (GFSU) were comparedwith age- and gender adjusted German (GER) residents (3253 children,2491 adults).Results: The profile of risk factors differed considerably regardingspecificity and frequency. The prevalence of ≥3 risk factors was asfollows: in GFSU men 62%, women 36%, boys 19% and girls 17%; inTUR men 57%, women 30%, 15% boys and 6% girls; in GER men48%, women 19%, boys 4% and girls 6%; for EEU men 38%, women25% and 0% in children. No risk factor was present in GFSU men13%, women 25%, boys 38% and girls 42%; TUR men 13%, women28%, boys 27% and girls 22 %; GER men16%, women 45%, boys 46%and girls 41%; EEU men 17%, women 42 %, boys 29% and girls 27%.About 50% of the adults from Turkey and Eastern Europe were currentsmokers and one third of women and half of men from these twocountries were overweight.Conclusions: The implementation of primary care measures for theprevention of cardiovascular disease in migrants is necessary, and itshould consider the ethnic differences and the heterogeneous risk profiles

Keywords

• Prevention
• Ethnicity
• Risk factors
• Cardiovascular diseases