Cardiovascular Disorder Risk Assessment Among Police Personnel in Bengaluru City, India, Using World Health...

Context Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are important causes of premature death and disability and elevated healthcare costs. A significant percentage of this morbidity and mortality could be prevented by population-based strategies and cost-effective interventions for those at risk and with established diseases. Aim This study aims to estimate the 10-year risk of cardiovascular events (fatal or non-fatal) among police personnel in Bengaluru City, India. Materials and methods Police personnel above 40 years of age in Bengaluru City, India, were screened for CVD risk using the WHO/International Society of Hypertension (ISH) chart from November 2019 to June 2021. Data was collected by the multistage random sampling method by direct interview at the police station using a semi-structured questionnaire. CVD risk and associated factors were assessed using the WHO/ISH risk prediction chart. Data was entered into Microsoft Office Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Washington, United States) and analyzed using SPSS Statistics version 20.0 (IBM Corp. Released 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Results Among 400 study participants, 9.3% (n=37) had a high risk, 2.3% (n=9) had a moderate risk, and 88.5% (n=354) had a low risk of developing fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events in the next 10 years. Cardiovascular risk was found to be associated with certain socio-demographic and behavioral risk factors. Furthermore, a significant association (p<0.05) was found between CVD risk and the presence of comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. Conclusion The study indicates that there is a high burden of predicted cardiovascular risks among the study participants. The WHO/ISH chart can be used as a simple tool for cardiovascular risk stratification.