Assessment of cardiovascular risk factors prior to NHS Health Checks in an urban setting: cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: To assess the completeness of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor recording and levels of risk factors in patients eligible for the NHS Health Check. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Twenty-eight general practices located in Hammersmith and Fulham, London, UK. PARTICIPANTS: 42,306 patients aged 40 to 74 years without existing cardiovascular disease or diabetes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Measurement and level of CVD risk factors: blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), blood glucose and smoking status. RESULTS: There was a high recording of smoking status (86.1%) and blood pressure (82.5%); whilst BMI, cholesterol and glucose recording was lower. There was large variation in BMI, cholesterol, glucose recording between practices (29.7–91.5% for BMI). Women had significantly better risk factor recording than men (AOR = 1.70 [1.61–1.80] for blood pressure). All risk factors were better recorded in the least deprived patient group (AOR = 0.79 [0.73–0.85] for blood pressure) and patients with diagnosed hypertension (AOR = 7.24 [6.67–7.86] for cholesterol). Risk factor recording varied considerably between practices but was more strongly associated with patient than practice level characteristics. Age-adjusted levels of cholesterol and BMI were not significantly different between men and women. More men had raised blood glucose, blood pressure and BMI than women (29.7% [29.1–30.4] compared to 19.8% [19.3–20.3] for blood pressure). CONCLUSIONS: Before the NHS Health Check, CVD risk factor recording varied considerably by practice and patient characteristics. We identified significant elevated levels of raised CVD risk factors in the population eligible for a Health Check, which will require considerable work to manage.