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. 2020 Nov 30;15(11):e0242740.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242740. eCollection 2020.

Cardiovascular disease risk factors in Spain: A comparison of native and immigrant populations

Elena Rodriguez-Alvarez  1   2 , Nerea Lanborena  1   2 , Luisa N Borrell  2   3   4
Affiliations

Cardiovascular disease risk factors in Spain: A comparison of native and immigrant populations

Elena Rodriguez-Alvarez et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CDV) risk factors are highly prevalent among adults with low social class in Spain. However, little is known on how these factors are distributed in the immigrant population, a socio-economic disadvantaged population. Thus, this study aims to examine inequalities in CVD risk factors among immigrant and native populations. We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Spanish National Health Survey 2017 and used log-binomial regression to quantify the association of immigrant status on CVD risk factors among adults aged 25-64 years. The probabilities of having at least three CVD risk factors were higher for immigrants from Eastern Europe (PR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.15-1.35) and lower for immigrants from Africa (PR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.69-0.89) when compared with natives. The association of immigrant status and CVD risk factors varies with educational attainment (p-interaction = 0.001). Immigrants from Eastern Europe with low educational attainment have a higher probability of having at least three CVD risk factors compared with their native counterparts. In contrast, immigrants from Africa and Latin America with low educational attainment had a protective effect against having at least three CVD risk relative to natives. Health prevention and promotion strategies to reduce the burden of CVD taking should account for educational attainment given its differential effect among the immigrant population in Spain.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Prevalence Ratios (PR) and 95% CI confidence intervals for region of origin on ≥3 CVD risk factors by educational attainment: Spanish National Health Survey 2017.
*Adjusted for age (continuous), sex, employment status and living arrangement.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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