Stroke and (or) myocardial infarction attributable to modifiable risk factors in Henan, China

Estimating population attributable risks of potential modifiable risk factors for stroke and (or) myocardial infarction may be useful for planning cardiovascular disease (CVD) preventive strategies. A population of 17,292 adults aged 18 years and older from a cross-sectional survey was included in the study. The binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between risk factors with disease events, then population attributable fraction according to prevalence and odds ratios were calculated to identify and compare the effects at different subpopulations. We found that the main risk factor for CVD events was hypertension with about 50% of population attributable fraction; prehypertension (22.24%) only acts at rural older females; the efficiency of low- and moderate-level physical activities were higher in males (over 20%) than females (under 20%); ever smoked contributed to CVDs in rural older populations (males, 19.25%; females, 5.57%) and urban younger males (54.52%); while as for high body mass index, overweight (12.59%) only made contribution to rural males over 60 years. In conclusion, hypertension control in the whole population, physical activity increasing in males and older females, smoking prevention in rural elders and urban younger males, and slimming in rural elder males might be effective to reduce the burden of CVDs in Henan.