Evaluation of Health-Promoting Behaviors in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in the Preschool Children of Polish Health Care Professionals

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the health-promoting behavior of the preschool children (aged 3–6 y) of Polish health care professionals (HCPs). Methods: The study was conducted by means of quantitative research on a group of 386 individuals, using an Internet-based survey. Results: The ideal cardiovascular health model was determined in the case of 22 children (5.6%). The collected data revealed that, when regarding the recommended level of physical activity, children from HCP families meet the American Heart Association criteria much more often than their peers from other study populations (56.5% vs. 16.6%). In our study, more girls than boys participated in organized activities (60.2% vs. 50.3%, p = 0.05). There was no correlation between achieving adequate levels of physical activity and the BMI (p > 0.1). Overweight children had a more balanced diet than children with a normal body weight (p = 0.009). Conclusions: The obtained results allowed us to make the conclusion that there is a need to implement educational and preventive measures on a large scale, while some health-promoting behaviors, especially those concerning proper nutrition, require major modifications, even in HCP families.

Ideal cardiovascular health duration and risk of chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease

ObjectiveIncreasing number of clinical guidelines are adopting comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment tools for treatment decision and disease management. Yet, little is known regarding cardiovascular risks associated with the length of favourable cardiometabolic profile. In this context, we examined whether the duration of strictly ideal cardiovascular health (CVH), based on body mass index, blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and physical activity, in middle age is associated with risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in mid-to-late life.MethodsFrom the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study Ansung-Ansan cohort, we included 8020 participants (median age 50.0 years, 47.9% male), of whom, 7854 without CKD and 7796 without CVD at baseline. Cox proportional hazards models were employed to assess CKD and CVD risks, adjusting for age, sex, education level, examination sites and renal markers.ResultsOver a median follow-up of 15.0 years, 1401 cases of CKD and 493 cases of CVD were newly developed. Compared with participants with <5 years of ideal CVH duration, HR (95% CI) of those who maintained for 5–<10 years or ≥10 years had negatively graded risks for CKD (5–<10 years, 0.63 (0.39 to 0.93); ≥10 years, 0.33 (0.15 to 0.74)) and CVD (5–<10 years, 0.83 (0.54 to 1.27); ≥10 years, 0.22 (0.08 to 0.60)). In parallel, participants with delayed decline to suboptimal level had lower disease risks compared with counterparts with consistently suboptimal CVH.ConclusionOur findings confer that maintaining favourable health behaviours and clinical risk factor levels in midlife will improve later-life cardiovascular outcomes.

Tailoring Stroke Counseling for Risk Reduction Intervention to African American Men

Early life course achievement and maintenance of ideal cardiovascular health is associated with reduced risk of developing stroke later in life. The Stroke Counseling for Risk Reduction (SCORRE) intervention is an age-and-culturally relevant intervention originally designed to correct inaccurate stroke risk perceptions and improve lifestyle behaviors to reduce stroke risk in AAs age 20-35. In a study testing SCORRE, fewer men participated, but most were not at a stage of readiness for behavior change; many did not think they were at risk despite averaging three modifiable risk factors, and while improvements in outcomes were observed in women they were not in men. These differences led to tailoring SCORRE to young AA men. The methods for tailoring SCORRE and resulting strategies for attracting, engaging, and empowering them towards stroke risk reduction, including hypotheses concerning food supply, housing, economic and social relationships, education, and mental health care will be raised for discussion.

Association of Socioeconomic Status With Ideal Cardiovascular Health in Black Men

Background Black men are burdened by high cardiovascular risk and the highest all‐cause mortality rate in the United States. Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with improved cardiovascular risk factors in majority populations, but there is a paucity of data in Black men. Methods and Results We examined the association of SES measures including educational attainment, annual income, employment status, and health insurance status with an ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) score, which included blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, body mass index, physical activity, and smoking in African American Male Wellness Walks. Six metrics of ICH were categorized into a 3‐tiered ICH score 0 to 2, 3 to 4, and 5 to 6. Multinomial logistic regression modeling was performed to examine the association of SES measures with ICH scores adjusted for age. Among 1444 men, 7% attained 5 to 6 ICH metrics. Annual income <$20 000 was associated with a 56% lower odds of attaining 3 to 4 versus 0 to 2 ICH components compared with ≥$75 000 ( P =0.016). Medicare and no insurance were associated with a 39% and 35% lower odds of 3 to 4 versus 0 to 2 ICH components, respectively, compared with private insurance (all P <0.05). Education and employment status were not associated with higher attainment of ICH in Black men. Conclusions Among community‐dwelling Black men, higher attainment of measures of SES showed mixed associations with greater attainment of ICH. The lack of association of higher levels of educational attainment and employment status with ICH suggests that in order to address the long–standing health inequities that affect Black men, strategies to increase attainment of cardiovascular health may need to address additional components beyond SES.

Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metric and Its Change With Lifetime Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background Cardiovascular health (CVH) status is associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, evidence for association of CVH change with risk of CVD is scarce. Methods and Results Seven metrics (smoking status, body mass index, physical activity, diet, total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose) were used to evaluate the CVH status. Having 0 to 2, 3 to 4, and 5 to 7 ideal cardiovascular metrics were categorized as low, moderate, and high CVH status, respectively. Change in CVH status was assessed from 2006/2007 to 2010/2011. We calculated lifetime risk of CVD using a modified Kaplan–Meier method, and life expectancy was evaluated via the multistate lifetable method. There were 82 349 participants included in our analysis. At 35 years index age, the age‐adjusted incident rate and lifetime risk of CVD were increased with decreasing number of ideal CVH metrics. The direction of change in status of CVH was consistently associated with age‐adjusted incident rate and lifetime risk of CVD. At 35 years index age, improvement from low to moderate (37.6% [95% CI, 32.8%–42.4%]) or to high status (24.4% [95% CI, 12.7%–36.0%]) had lower lifetime risk of CVD compared with consistently low status (44.6% [95% CI, 40.8%–48.5%]). The improvement in CVH could prolong the years of life free from CVD. The pattern of incident rate and lifetime risk across change in CVH status was similar at 45 and 55 years index age. Conclusions Higher number of CVH metrics was associated with lower lifetime risk of CVD. The improvement of CVH status could reduce the lifetime risk of CVD and prolonged the year of life free from CVD.