Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Low-Income Women: A Population-Based Study in China from 1991 to 2011.
Data on long-term trends in the prevalence and clustering of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among women in China are rare, especially among low-income women. The aim of this study was to investigate the secular trends in the prevalence of CVD risk factors among low-income women in northern China.



The prevalence and clustering of CVD risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, current smoking status, and alcohol consumption, were assessed and compared in women aged 35-74 years in northern China in 1991 and 2011.



The age-adjusted prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among women was significantly higher in 2011 than in 1991, with increases of 31% (53.6% vs. 41.1%) for hypertension, 148% (20.9% vs. 8.4%) for obesity, 256% (11.7% vs. 3.3%) for diabetes, and 1634% (4.5% vs. 0.3%) for alcohol consumption. Over the 21-year period, there were significant differences in the prevalence of clustering of ≥1, ≥2, and 3 risk factors in all age groups. The greatest increase was observed among women aged 35-44 years, with a 7.3-fold increase in the prevalence of clustering of three risk factors. Simultaneously, the prevalence of clustering of ≥1 risk factors among women aged 35-44 years was 1.7-fold higher in 2011 than in 1991; the prevalence of clustering of ≥2 risk factors was raised by 5.5-fold among elderly women.



Our findings suggest that it is crucial to emphasize the prevention and control of cardiovascular risk factors among young women in rural China to reduce the burden of CVDs.
1 Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital , Tianjin, China .|2 Department of Epidemiology, Tianjin Neurological Institute , Tianjin, China .
Hongyan
H
Lu
1 Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital , Tianjin, China .|2 Department of Epidemiology, Tianjin Neurological Institute , Tianjin, China .
Lingling
L
Bai
1 Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital , Tianjin, China .|2 Department of Epidemiology, Tianjin Neurological Institute , Tianjin, China .|3 Department of Neurology, Wuhu No.2 People's Hospital , Wuhu, China .
Changqing
C
Zhan
2 Department of Epidemiology, Tianjin Neurological Institute , Tianjin, China .
Li
L
Yang
1 Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital , Tianjin, China .|2 Department of Epidemiology, Tianjin Neurological Institute , Tianjin, China .
Jun
J
Tu
4 Department of Neurology, Tianjin Haibin People's Hospital , Tianjin, China .
Hongfei
H
Gu
1 Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital , Tianjin, China .|2 Department of Epidemiology, Tianjin Neurological Institute , Tianjin, China .
Min
M
Shi
1 Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital , Tianjin, China .|2 Department of Epidemiology, Tianjin Neurological Institute , Tianjin, China .
Jinghua
J
Wang
1 Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital , Tianjin, China .|2 Department of Epidemiology, Tianjin Neurological Institute , Tianjin, China .
Xianjia
X
Ning
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology
cardiovascular diseases; population-based study; prevalence; risk factors; trends