Comparison of Framingham 10-year cardiovascular risks in Sweden- and foreign-born primary health care patients in Sweden

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of cardiovascular disease around the world varies by ethnicity and region of birth. Immigrants living in Sweden may have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular diseases than native-born Swedes, but little is known about their actual cardiovascular risk. This study aimed to examine the relationship in Sweden between 10-year cardiovascular risk and birthplace. METHOD: This cross-sectional study was based on cardiovascular risk factor data obtained from the 4D Diabetes Project, a Programme 4D subproject in Sweden. Participants were recruited from two primary healthcare centres in Stockholm without a history of diabetes or pre-diabetes. The outcome variable was 10-year cardiovascular risk based on the calculation of a Framingham Risk Score with six risk factors: age, sex, LDL, HDL, BP, diabetes and smoking for each participant. Multiple linear regression was performed to generate β-coefficients for the outcome. RESULTS: There was an average of 8.86% cardiovascular risk over 10 years in Sweden-born participants and a 5.45% 10-year risk in foreign-born, (P < 0.0001). Foreign-born participants were about 10 years younger (mean age 46 years vs. 56 years, P < 0.001), with a significantly higher proportion of smokers (23.9% vs. 13.7%; P = 0.001). To be born in Sweden (with parents born in Sweden) was significantly associated with a 10-year cardiovascular risk in the crude model (β- coefficient = 3.40, 95% CI 2.59–4.22; P < 0.0001) and when adjusted for education and alcohol consumption (β- coefficient = 2.70 95% CI 1.86–3.54; P < 0.0001). Regardless of the birthplace, 10-year cardiovascular risk was lower for those with higher education compared to those with less than 10 years of education. CONCLUSION: This study found a relationship between 10-year calculated cardiovascular risk and place of birth. Sweden-born participants had a higher association with 10-year cardiovascular risk than foreign-born participants. These results contradict previous reports of higher rates of CVD in residents of Middle-Eastern countries and Middle-Eastern immigrants living in Sweden.