title: Ideal cardiovascular health is associated with self-rated health status. The Polish Norwegian Study (PONS).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The concept of ideal cardiovascular health emphasizes a more integrative definition of health to include protective biological factors and behaviors but it has not been investigated in relation to individuals' perspectives on their own health.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used cross-sectional data of 10,687 participants, age 45-64years, free of cardiovascular diseases. Ideal cardiovascular health was defined according to the American Heart Association criteria (7 metrics assessed at 3 levels: ideal, intermediate, and poor). A single-item of self-rated health (SRH) was recorded on a scale from 1 to 10. We adjusted for age, sex, education, place of residence, alcohol intake, chronic diseases and depression score in general linear and Poisson regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study participants met an average of two ideal cardiovascular factors and rated their health around a mean (SD) of 6.8 (1.4). The mean number of ideal metrics met and the total cardiovascular health score displayed a graded association with increasing SRH ratings. Examining prevalence ratios, compared to participants with a lower SRH, those with a SRH≥7 were more likely to be physically active (PR 1.79, 95% CI 1.30-2.45), more likely to have an optimal BMI (PR 1.24, 95% CI 1.16-1.33) and more likely to have their blood pressure controlled (PR 1.24, 95% CI 1.12-1.38).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of ideal cardiovascular behaviors and factors is low in the community. The association between ideal cardiovascular health and self-rated health suggests potential opportunity to motivate and deliver health promotion interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: marta.manczuk@coi.pl.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manczuk
authors.affiliation: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Fairleigh Dickinson University, School of Pharmacy, Florham Park, NJ, USA. Electronic address: gvaidean@fdu.edu.
authors.forename: Georgeta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vaidean
authors.affiliation: Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. Electronic address: Mahshid.Dehghan@phri.ca.
authors.forename: Mahshid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dehghan
authors.affiliation: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: rajesh.vedanthan@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vedanthan
authors.affiliation: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: paolo.boffetta@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boffetta
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: wazatonski@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Witold A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Zatonski
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000208:ethnology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000208:ethnology; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report
keywords: Cardiovascular epidemiology; Ideal cardiovascular health; Self-rated health