Life’s simple 7 and all-cause mortality. A population-based prospective cohort study in middle-aged and older adults of Amerindian ancestry living in rural Ecuador

Life’s Simple 7 is an initiative of the American Heart Association developed for stratifying risk factors associated with adverse vascular outcomes and premature mortality. While this scale has been widely used, there is limited information on its applicability to individuals living in remote communities where risk factors and lifestyles differ from those found in urban settings. This longitudinal prospective study aimed to assess, according to the Life’s Simple 7 scale, all-cause mortality in community-dwelling middle-age and older adults of Amerindian ancestry living in rural Ecuador. A total of 933 Atahualpa residents aged ≥ 40 years who received baseline interviews and procedures for measurement of cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics were enrolled and followed-up for a median of 8 years (interquartile range: 4–9 years). Using a Poisson regression model (adjusted for age at baseline, gender and the level of education), the predicted incidence rate of mortality was 4.22 per 100 person-years (95% C.I.: 2.48–5.97) for individuals with 0–1 CVH metrics in the ideal range, which decreased to 1.23 (95% C.I.: 0.24–2.21) for those with five ideal metrics. In an adjusted Cox-proportional hazard model that included all the CVH metrics, having three or more metrics in the ideal range significantly reduced the mortality hazard ratio when compared with individuals having 0–2 ideal metrics. Study results emphasize the usefulness of the Life’s Simple 7 scale to estimate mortality risk in Amerindians living in remote communities. Control of CVH metrics should prove cost-effective for reducing premature deaths in underserved populations.