Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep;83(3):10.48107/cmj.2021.07.01.
doi: 10.48107/cmj.2021.07.01. Epub 2021 Jul 25.

Cardiovascular Health in a Single Community in Rural Haiti: A Cross-sectional Study

Vincenzo B Polsinelli  1   2 , Ketheline Rock Dantil  2 , Vincent DeGennaro  3 , Darius L Fénelon  4 , Dufens Pierre Louis  4 , Joseph L Izzo Jr  5 , Gene F Kwan  6   7
Affiliations

Cardiovascular Health in a Single Community in Rural Haiti: A Cross-sectional Study

Vincenzo B Polsinelli et al. Caribb Med J. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Introduction: There is a growing burden of cardiovascular disease in low- and middle-income countries and assessment of cardiovascular health (CVH) may identify populations at risk for poor CVH.

Methods: Between July 2014 and August 2014, we performed a household survey from a convenience sample among adult community members in rural northern Haiti. We used a modified World Health Organization STEPwise approach to chronic disease questionnaire to capture self-reported data on tobacco, diet, physical activity, and diabetes, and measured blood pressure and body mass index. We used an adapted American Heart Association definition and thresholds for determining ideal, intermediate, and poor cardiovascular health. We used linear and logistic regression to examine associations between socio-demographic characteristics with CVH score and ideal CVH.

Results: Among 540 participants (mean [SD] age = 40.3 [17.1] years, 67% women), there was a high prevalence of poor CVH (n=476, 88.1%) compared with intermediate (n=56, 10.4%) and ideal (n=41, 7.6%) CVH. Ideal metrics for blood pressure (47%) and diet (26%) were least often met, while body weight (84%), physical activity (83%), and smoking (90%) were most often met. Men were associated with better CVH score (0.31, [0.04-0.59]; P=0.03), and being a farmer was associated with ideal CVH (P=0.006).

Conclusion: In this community-based sample of a farming community in rural Haiti, very few adults had ideal CVH. Higher CVH score was associated with male sex, and farming as a primary occupation. Women and non-farmers may represent at-risk subgroups within this population. Blood pressure and diet may represent possible areas for improvement.

Keywords: Cardiovascular Health; Cardiovascular disease epidemiology; Haiti; Hypertension.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: None declared

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Distribution of cardiovascular health by sex
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Polsinelli VB, et al., Hypertension and aging in rural Haiti: results from a preliminary survey. Journal of Human Hypertension, 2017. 31(2): p. 138–144. - PubMed
    1. DeGennaro V Jr., et al., Community-based diagnosis of non-communicable diseases and their risk factors in rural and urban Haiti: a cross-sectional prevalence study. BMJ Open, 2018. 8 (4): p. e020317. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pierce L, et al., Hypertension prevalence and knowledge assessment in rural Haiti. Ethnicity & Disease, 2014. 24(2): p. 213–9. - PubMed
    1. Kwan GF, et al., Descriptive epidemiology and short-term outcomes of heart failure hospitalisation in rural Haiti. Heart, 2016. 102(2): p. 140–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jean-Baptiste ED, et al., Glucose intolerance and other cardiovascular risk factors in Haiti. Prevalence of Diabetes and Hypertension in Haiti (PREDIAH). Diabetes & Metabolism, 2006. 32(5 Pt 1): p. 443–51. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources