title: The ROVIGO study (risk of vascular complications: impact of genetics in old people): protocol, study design, and preliminary results of the initial survey : cardiovascular epidemiology in the elderly.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The epidemiology of cardiovascular risk (CV) in the elderly is far from being defined, and the reasons why some subjects retain a healthy body while growing old while others are affected by different diseases or die prematurely are still unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the CV risk pattern in two elderly cohorts living in North-East Italy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Risk Of Vascular complications: Impact of Genetics in Old people (ROVIGO) study is a population-based study including 580 unrelated elderly subjects representative of general population living in Rovigo in the Veneto region. They were compared to a cohort of 580 age-gender-matched unrelated subjects from the CArdiovascular STudy in the Elderly (CASTEL) living in the same region in Castelfranco Veneto and Chioggia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, and prevalence of coronary heart disease, heart failure and chronic pulmonary disease were lower in the ROVIGO than in the CASTEL cohort, while high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and the prevalence of diabetes were higher in the former than in the latter. In the ROVIGO cohort, diabetes, left ventricular hypertrophy, coronary and cerebrovascular diseases were more represented in men. In the CASTEL cohort, systolic BP was higher in women. In both cohorts, the lipid pattern was less favourable and HR higher in women, chronic pulmonary disease more represented in men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People living in Rovigo were at lower CV risk than those in Castelfranco Veneto and Chioggia, mainly due to lower BP values, better lipid pattern and lower prevalence of CV and pulmonary disease.
authors.affiliation: Hypertension Centre Certified by the Italian Society of Hypertension, Santa Maria della Misericordia General Hospital, Rovigo, Italy, mazza.alberto@azisanrovigo.it.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mazza
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zamboni
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ramazzina
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schiavon
authors.forename: Panagiota
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rempelou
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zorzan
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bascelli
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Segato
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Redi
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pagnin
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Camerotto
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zuin
authors.forename: Enzo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rizzato
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marcolongo
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orsini
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rubello
authors.forename: Edoardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Casiglia
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D015995:Prevalence; D065840:Protective Factors; D012107:Research Design; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors