To what extent is the altitude at which we live associated with 10-year cardiovascular risk?

Abstract

IntroductionThere is evidence that demonstrates lower incidence rates of cardiometabolic factors at the highlands. There are no studies which correlate the altitude with formally calculated cardiovascular risk by a meter-by-meter approach. Under the hypothesis that cardiovascular risk is inversely associated with altitude, this study was aimed to assess such association.Materials and methodsCross sectional study using data from the Ecuadorian National Health Survey of 2012. We analyzed available information of adults of ≥ 40 to 60 years old who have sociodemographic, anthropometric, cardiovascular risk factors, and laboratory biomarkers that were included in the survey. We assessed the independent association between altitude of the housing in which survey participants lived at, on a meter-by-meter approach, and cardiovascular health risk at ten years, formally calculated by Framingham equations.ResultsLinear regression model showed that participants had 0.0005 % less probability of developing cardiovascular disease at 10 years per each increase in a meter in the altitude that participants live at (p<0.001), adjusted for sex, age, ethnicity, educational level, availability of social security, immigrants in family, area, income quintile, overcrowding (≥ 7 inhabitants in the house), any alcohol consumption, history of hypertension, body mass index, hematocrit, and triglycerides.ConclusionFrom a public health perspective, altitude at which individuals live is an important health determinant of cardiovascular risk. Specifically, per each increase of 1000 m in the altitude that people live at, there is a reduction of almost half a percentual point in the cardiovascular risk at 10 years.