Immigration presents a potential increased risk for atherosclerosis

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular epidemiology
• Public health
• Immigrant health

Background:

• Western immigrants often face higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk than in their home countries.
• It remains unclear if immigrant CVD risk exceeds that of non-immigrants in host countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the independent association between time since immigration and sub-clinical atherosclerosis.
• To assess atherosclerosis burden in immigrants of Chinese, European, and South Asian origin compared to non-immigrants.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 460 immigrants and 158 non-immigrants across three ethnicities.
• Sub-clinical atherosclerosis assessed via carotid artery ultrasound (intima-media thickness, plaque area).
• Data collected on socio-demographics, CVD risk factors, lifestyle, and time since immigration.

Main Results:

• Immigrants residing in the host country for >=30 years showed greater carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) than non-immigrants and recent immigrants (< or =20 years).
• Time since immigration significantly correlated with IMT, plaque area, and combined IMT+plaque area.
• Adjusted analysis confirmed time since immigration as an independent predictor of increased IMT (2% per decade), alongside age (7% per decade).

Conclusions:

• Immigration is associated with a higher burden of sub-clinical atherosclerosis compared to non-immigrants.
• This atherosclerosis burden escalates with longer duration of stay, irrespective of other known risk factors.
• Immigrants constitute a vulnerable population requiring targeted cardiovascular interventions.