Assessing and targeting key lifestyle cardiovascular risk factors at the workplace: Effect on hemoglobin A1c levels

The effect of community hypertension management on blood pressure control and its determinants in southwest China

BACKGROUND

Hypertension is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of community healthcare in controlling blood pressure (BP) and mitigating related risk factors after 5 y of follow-up.

METHODS

Hierarchical clustering sampling was employed to choose a representative sample of 10 rural and 10 urban community populations (N=4235). The 5y prospective cohort study was completed by the medical group in the community clinical centre.

RESULTS

The study included 4235 patients, median age 69 y (range 61-76), with hypertension in 2009; 2533 (59.81%) were female. The rate of BP control increased from 28.33% in 2009 to 64.05% in 2014. The BP control rate was higher in patients with CVD and kidney disease and lower in those with obesity than in those without. Comparing 2009 and 2014 values, the intervention resulted in median systolic BP and diastolic BP reductions of 7.0 mmHg and 6.5 mmHg, respectively. Age, medication treatment, antihypertensive agents, BP at baseline and follow-up, complications of diabetes, CVD, obesity and kidney disease, the aspartate aminotransferase:aminotransferase ratio and smoking were identified as risk factors for BP control.

CONCLUSIONS

Community management of hypertension by general practitioners achieved significant BP control over 5 y of intervention.

Deteriorated Cardiometabolic Risk Profile in Individuals With Excessive Blood Pressure Response to Submaximal Exercise

BACKGROUND

Early identification of individuals at increased cardiometabolic risk is an essential step to improve primary preventive interventions. Excessive maximal exercise blood pressure (EBP) has been associated with several adverse outcomes. We examined how submaximal EBP could help us to identify individuals with a deteriorated cardiometabolic risk profile.

METHODS

Data from an observational study of 3,913 participants from a convenience sample were used. Subjects included in the analyses completed a comprehensive cardiometabolic health assessment (resting blood pressure [BP]; waist circumference; lipid profile; HbA1c; submaximal treadmill exercise test including a standardized stage [3.5 mph and 2% slope] with BP and heart rate measurements). Participants were classified on BP response at the standardized stage (Normal or Excessive Response). Excessive response was defined as systolic BP ≥ 80th percentile or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg. Subjects were also classified into five resting BP subgroups according to current guidelines.

RESULTS

The Excessive Response group had more deteriorated cardiometabolic and cardiorespiratory profiles than the Normal Response group (P ≤ 0.01). The Excessive Response group also showed a greater proportion of carriers of the hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype in most resting BP subgroups (P ≤ 0.05). Finally, excessive BP response to submaximal exercise showed an independent contribution on cardiometabolic and cardiorespiratory factors beyond age, sex, and resting BP.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that an excessive BP response to a submaximal exercise is associated with a deteriorated cardiometabolic risk profile beyond resting BP profile. Therefore, submaximal EBP represents a simple screening tool to better identify at-risk individuals requiring aggressive preventive lifestyle interventions.

From syndrome X to cardiometabolic risk: clinical and public health implications

Although the first description of a syndrome defined by the co-existence of atherogenic and diabetogenic metabolic abnormalities is debated in the literature, it was Gerald Reaven who proposed, in his landmark 1988 Banting award lecture, that a significant proportion of individuals (with diabetes or not) were characterised by insulin resistance causing prejudice to cardiovascular health. However, Reaven was influenced by seminal observations made more than 50 years earlier by Himsworth who proposed that there were two forms of diabetes (insulin resistant v. insulin sensitive). Reaven went further in proposing the theory that insulin resistance was the most prevalent cause of CVD associated with metabolic abnormalities that he named syndrome X. Because there was a syndrome X documented in cardiology, the term evolved to insulin resistance syndrome. As Reaven could also find insulin-resistant individuals in non-obese subjects, he did not include obesity as a feature of syndrome X. Imaging studies then revealed that excess adipose tissue in the abdominal cavity, a condition described as visceral obesity, was the form of overweight/obesity associated with insulin resistance and its related abnormalities. As obesity risk assessment and management remain largely based on body weight (BMI) and weight loss, it is proposed that our clinical approaches and public health messages should be revisited. First, patients should be educated about the importance of monitoring their waistline as a crude index of abdominal adiposity. Secondly, public health approaches focussing on 'lifestyle vital signs' including achieving healthy waistlines rather than healthy body weights should be developed.

Relation Between a Simple Lifestyle Risk Score and Established Biological Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease

Although cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus are largely lifestyle driven, lifestyle metrics are not used in clinical practice. This study examined the relevance of using a simple lifestyle risk score designed for primary care medicine by testing its ability to predict biological CVD risk factors in a cohort of 3,712 individuals involved in a workplace health evaluation or management program ("Grand Défi Entreprise" project). Using a lifestyle risk score based on waist circumference, fitness, nutritional quality, and physical activity level, employees were categorized into 3 distinct estimated lifestyle risk levels (low, intermediate, and high). A biological CVD risk score was also calculated, which included high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), cholesterol-to-HDL-C ratio, blood pressure, hemoglobin glycated levels, and medication use. Diastolic blood pressure, TG levels, and the cholesterol-to-HDL-C ratio increased across categories of lifestyle risk score, whereas HDL-C decreased (p <0.05). Calculated Framingham and diabetes risk scores as well as the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype also increased across categories of lifestyle risk score (p <0.05). Finally, 1-way analysis of variance revealed that the biological risk score significantly increased across the lifestyle risk score categories (p <0.0001). Our study provides evidence that lifestyle variables can be measured and targeted in clinical practice.