Prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in Tallinn, Estonia

Cardiovascular diseases are still a major public health concern in Estonia despite the decline in the mortality rate during the past decade. For better preventive strategies we aimed to investigate the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors and their relations with age, gender and ethnicity.

The cross-sectional study was carried out in Tallinn, Estonia. Two hundred individuals from each of the sex and 10-year age group (range 20-65 years of age) were randomly selected and invited to participate. Final study sample consisted of 511 men and 600 women (mean age of 46 years). Physiological measurements were taken and blood samples were drawn for standard measurements of the following markers: total cholesterol, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoproteins, triglycerides, glucose and inflammatory markers.

Overall, 31% of the study subjects had high blood pressure, 23% had metabolic syndrome, and 55% were overweight/obese. The prevalence of all risk factors increased with age amongst both genders. The proportion of individuals having increased cholesterol, apolipoprotein B-100, and homocysteine levels was very high amongst both genders (60-80%). More Russians and other ethnic minorities compared to ethnic Estonians had calculated 10-year CHD risk≥10%.

The study established a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in Estonian adults (20-65 years of age). Younger portion of the population and some extent ethnic considerations should be taken into account when designing future studies, health prevention activities and interventions.