Is migration to Sweden associated with increased prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease?
BACKGROUND
[corrected] The proportion of elderly immigrants in Sweden is increasing. This is an important issue considering that the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a global health problem and that CVD is one of the main causes of morbidity among the elderly. The aim of this study is to analyze whether there is an association between migration status, that is being an elderly Iranian immigrant in Sweden, as compared with being an elderly Iranian in Iran, and the prevalence of risk factors for CVD.


METHODS
Population-based cross-sectional study with face-to-face interviews.


METHODS
A total of 176 Iranians in Stockholm and 300 Iranians in Tehran, aged 60-84 years.


METHODS
The prevalence of general obesity, abdominal obesity, hypertension, smoking, and diabetes was determined. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for outcomes.


RESULTS
The age-adjusted risk of hypertension and smoking was higher in Iranian women and men in Sweden. OR for hypertension was 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1-3.2) for women and 3.1 (95% CI: 1.5-6.3) for men and OR for smoking was 6.9 (95% CI: 2.2-21.6) for women and 4.7 (95% CI: 2.0-11.0) for men. The higher risk for hypertension and smoking remained significant after accounting for age, socioeconomic status, and marital status. Abdominal obesity was found in nearly 80% of the women in both groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings show a strong association between migration status and the prevalence of hypertension and smoking. Major recommendation for public health is increased awareness of CVD risk factors among elderly immigrants.
Koochek
Afsaneh
A
Center for Family and Community Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge, Sweden. afsaneh.koochek@ki.se
Mirmiran
Parvin
P
Azizi
Tohid
T
Padyab
Mojgan
M
Johansson
Sven-Erik
SE
Karlström
Brita
B
Azizi
Fereidoun
F
Sundquist
Jan
J
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology