Prevalence and clinical features of heart failure in Greenland

Abstract

Heart Failure (HF) constitutes a significant burden for healthcare around the world. In Greenland, risk factors like smoking, diabetes, and obesity are prevalent. Yet, the prevalence of HF remains unexplored. This register-based cross-sectional study uses data from the national medical record in Greenland to estimate the age- and gender-specific prevalence of HF and to describe the characteristics of patients with HF in Greenland. A total of 507 patients (26% women) with a mean age of 65 years were included based on a diagnosis of HF. The overall prevalence was 1.1% and higher among men compared to women (1.6% vs. 0.6%, p < 0.05). The highest prevalence was among men above 84 years (11.1%). More than half (53%) had a body mass index above 30 kg/m2 and 43% were current daily smokers. The proportion diagnosed with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) was 33%. The overall prevalence of HF in Greenland is consistent with that in other high-income countries, yet high among men in some age groups, compared to Danish men. Almost half the patients were obese and/or smokers. A low prevalence of IHD was observed indicating that other factors may play a role in developing HF among Greenlanders.

High Prevalence of Atrial Fibrillation Found in the Capital of Greenland When Using Continuous Electrocardiogram Monitoring: A Cross-Sectional Study

“… 37 Similarly, heart failure was reported by 1%, which corresponds to the prevalence described by Larsen et al. in 2023, 38 and the self-reported prevalence of ischemic heart disease is similar to that found by Jørgensen et al. in a study including 1316 Greenlandic Inuit participants aged ≥ 18 years.…”

“… 43 Our study did not include genetic data, but a well established finding is that the Greenlandic Inuit population has genetic traits that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, and higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. 44 , 45 In addition, a study from Canada found a higher rate of congenital QT syndrome among some First Nations participants, 46 and the Inuit population in Greenland has a higher rate of congenital heart disease and nonischemic heart failure than that among the non-Inuit population, 38 , 47 , 48 all of which can create a predisposition for AF. Some ethnic minorities may have an increased susceptibility to early-onset AF due to genetic variants, 49 and we found an AF prevalence of 7% among the youngest agegroup included in our study.…”

Quality of care among patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation in Greenland

“…The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in the Greenlandic background population aged 20 years or older was 3.7% in 2020 [ 18 ]. Larsen et al estimated the prevalence of HF to be 1.1% in the Greenlandic population aged 16 years or above [ 38 ].…”