Rural and Urban Cape Verde: Differences in the prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk factors in an African country

Introduction:In Cape Verde, a country with a large USA diaspora, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading cause of death but the prevalence and geographic distribution of involved risk factors are not known. We assessed rural-urban differences in CV risk factors and related socio-demographic characteristics.

Methods:We studied 1762 individuals, 25-64 years, using the Steps-WHO approach. Standard procedures were used to collect information on social, demographic, behavioral and anthropometric characteristics, blood pressure and biochemical evaluation. Standardized weighted prevalence and logistic odds ratios (OR,95% confidence intervals) were calculated.

Results:Male current smoking was 15.9% (11.8-21.2) and female 4.0% (2.1-7.6), with significantly higher prevalence of male rural smokers (20.7% vs. 13.6%); male alcohol consumption was 77.7% (71.0-83.3) and 28.7% (22.0-36.5) among women;  85.5% (73.4-92.7) of men and 89.3% (76.1-95.7) of women daily consumed ˂5 portions of fruit and vegetables; 6.5% (3.9-10.7) of  men and 14.4% (10.3-19.8) of women were obese. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia were 43.8% (37.0-50.9), 14.3% (7.8-24.6) and 5.4% (2.1-13.4) among men, and 32.3% (27.9-37.0), 9.1% (6.5-12.6) and 12.9% (5.3-27.9) among women. There was a significantly higher risk among male but not female urban habitants. Female overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity were more frequent in urban settings (age adjusted OR, women: 2.29,1.39-3.77 and 2.45,1.33-4.51) as alcohol consumption: 3.66,2.02-6.64; The odds of urban male abdominal obesity were 12.6,2.83-56.8.  

Conclusion:A significantly different gender and rural-urban distribution of CV risk factors, and an interaction between gender and area of residence were evident. It should be considered in public health policies aimed to respond to the epidemiological transition.