Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Assessment among South and South-East Asian Migrants Living in Greater Sydney, Australia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major causes of death and disability in Australia. The number of migrants from South and South-East Asian countries to Australia is increasing rapidly and are at increased risk of developing CVDs. This study assessed the absolute CVD risk among South and South-East Asian migrants living in Greater Sydney, Australia.Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 129 adult participants aged 40 years and above. We used the World Health Organization (WHO) 2019 non-laboratory ten-year CVD risk calculation chart to calculate CVD risk. Additionally, the CVD risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity were also assessed and were analysed using SPSS version 26.0. Results:The mean age of the study participants was 48.43 (7.41) and 56.6% were females. Most of the participants (86%) had low CVD risk with CVD risk scores < 10% and 14% showed elevated CVD risk with CVD risk scores > 10%. Multivariate analysis showed that those migrants with alcohol consumption behaviour, had a personal history of diabetes and those who were overweight/obese had an increased risk of developing CVD at 10 years. Conclusion:This suggests the need for developing and implementing culturally appropriate intervention approaches to improve unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and minimize the CVD risk factors among these migrants living in Australia.