Prevention & lipidsCohort study
Very High Prevalence of Nonoptimally Controlled Traditional Risk Factors at the Onset of Cardiovascular Disease
- Prospective cohort study
- 2 population-based prospective cohorts
- binational
Authors' conclusion
In this binational study of 2 prospective cohorts, the presence of nonoptimal levels of ≥1 traditional risk factor was nearly universal before CVD.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals who developed incident coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (HF) or stroke during follow-up in 2 population-based cohorts (Korea, US)601,025 and 1,188 cardiovascular disease (CVD) events
- Participants
- 9,341,100 vs 6,803
- Exposure
- KNHIS vs MESA
- KNHISn = 9,341,100
- MESAn = 6,803
- Outcome
- Prevalence of ≥1 traditional risk factor above optimal level (SBP ≥120 mm Hg or DBP ≥80 mm Hg or BP-lowering treatment; total cholesterol ≥200 mg/dL or lipid-lowering treatment; fasting glucose ≥100 mg/dL or DM or glucose-lowering treatment; past or current smoking) before first CHD, HF or stroke
- Follow-up
- Any visit before CVD
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of ≥1 nonoptimal risk factor before CVD event
Before CHD
Before HF
Before stroke
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
≥1 risk factor before CVD, by age group and sex
- Consistently high across age groups in men and women
- >99%
- Lowest for HF and stroke at ages <60 years in women
- >95%
≥2 risk factors before CVD
- Prevalence of ≥2 risk factors before CVD events
- 93.2% to 97.2%
Original publication
Very High Prevalence of Nonoptimally Controlled Traditional Risk Factors at the Onset of Cardiovascular Disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. Published 7 October 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2025.07.014
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it