Cardiovascular risk factors research in Bosnia and Herzegovina

This study describes the current situation of cardiovascular risk factors research in the Bosnia and Herzegovina, with special emphasis on the Herzegovina region. The available data for the analysis includes various secondary sources, including project reports, official vital statistics data and other sources. Currently, there is a substantial lack of relevant information, which is available from occasional surveys or isolated studies. One of the main problems in detailed analysis is the lack of detailed and reliable census data, which causes problems in calculation of various rates and disables the creation of representative population samples for the field work and subsequent analysis. Comparison of the available information with neighbouring Croatia indicates interesting mixture of relatively high prevalence of some risk factors and rather low prevalence of others; almost 50% of men reported smoking on a daily basis, while only 16.5% of men were obese, while 40% of them had blood pressure over 140/90 mmHg. The results provide useful but incomplete information for the policy, thus suggesting that broader scope of public health research is needed in the region coupled with the census data, in order to provide better information for health policy and ultimately delivery of the optimal health care to the entire population.