Association of Life's Simple 7 and presence of cardiovascular disease in general Australians

OBJECTIVE: The American Heart Association developed Life’s Simple 7 to define and monitor cardiovascular health (CVH), but their contributions to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in general Australians are still unclear. Our study aimed to evaluate the separate and combined effects of Life’s Simple 7 on CVD among Australians. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study based on 7499 adults (≥18 years) who have been tested for total cholesterol and fasting plasma glucose as part of the 2011–2012 Australian Health Survey. Poisson regression analyses were used to estimate the incidence rate ratios and population attributable fractions of those metrics to CVD prevalence. Participants were classified into three CVH status groups based on the number of ideal metrics: inadequate (0–2), average (3–4) and optimal (5–7). Logistic regression analyses were performed to illustrate the relationships between overall CVH and CVD prevalence. RESULTS: 2100 (21.0%) participants were having CVD. Smoking, elevated body mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose and physical inactivity were observed as significant indicators of CVD. Compared with the inadequate category, participants in the optimal and average category have a 66% (adjusted OR, 0.34; 95% CI 0.22 to 0.54) and a 33% (adjusted OR, 0.67; 95% CI 0.56 to 0.81) lower CVD risk. One more ideal metric was associated with a 21% reduced CVD risk (adjusted OR, 0.79; 95% CI 0.73 to 0.84). CONCLUSIONS: We have identified several modifiable risk factors and contributors of CVD in general Australians. The improvement of overall CVH may also reduce CVD risk.