One-Fourth of Older Adults in Eastern India at High Risk of Heart Disease, Study Finds

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) poses major public health challenges in low-resource settings like India, where it contributes significantly to premature mortality and morbidity. This study assessed 10-year CVD risk and its associated factors among community-dwelling older adults in Eastern India.

This cross-sectional study, conducted in rural and urban areas of Deoghar, Jharkhand, in 2023, assessed 477 adults (aged 40-74 years) using the World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension (WHO/ISH) South Asian Region (SAR) non-laboratory risk chart. Multinomial logistic regression identified predictors of moderate-to-high CVD risk.

Results: Among participants, 75.8% had a low 10-year CVD risk (< 10%), 22.2% had moderate risk (10% to <20%), and 1.9% had high risk (≥20%). Predictors of moderate-to-high CVD risk (≥10%) identified through multinomial logistic regression included increasing age (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.0; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.8-2.3), male gender (AOR: 16.0; 2.4-106.3), lower per capita monthly income (PCMI) (AOR: 3.0; 1.0-8.9), family history of hypertension, diabetes, or heart disease (AOR: 5.7; 1.8-18.4), central obesity (AOR: 11.9; 3.5-40.9), and tobacco use (AOR: 8.2; 2.0-33.6). Regular physical activity (≥30 minutes/day) was a protective factor (AOR: 0.2; 0.1-0.8).