CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK IN THE AUSTRALIAN AND NETHERLANDS COMMUNITIES: AN APPROACH TO BETTER TARGETING PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS

Introduction and objectives: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among adults worldwide. The objectives of this study were to compare absolute CVD risk between Dutch and Australian communities using Family Physician clinical records and investigating spatial variations of CVD risk and its correlations with socio-economic and lifestyles. Method: De-identified patients’ records were drawn from 16 GP practices from Australia and the Netherlands. The Framingham Risk Equation (FRE) was used to calculate 10-year absolute CVD risk for 8,879 and 18,838 patients aged 30-74 with no prior history of any CVD in Dutch and Australian respectively. Furthermore, the individual risk scores were aggregated to statistical area level 1 (SA1) in Australia and 4-digit postcode level in the Netherlands to generate area level CVD risk. Furthermore, spatial variation and CVD hotspots were assessed using spatial analysis and hotspots mapping techniques. Results and conclusion: Frothy percent of Dutch sample were in high risk category compared to 21% in Australian sample population. CVD risk varies across the neighbourhoods in both countries. The 10-year CVD risk is also significantly higher in the most disadvantaged areas than the least disadvantaged in both populations. The approach taken in this study provides an opportunity for researchers to further explore prevalence, location and correlates of CVD, and is applicable anywhere that this data is available. This study illustrates an innovative methodology to identify communities of high levels of unmet need for CVD care and enable geographic targeting of effective prevention interventions.