۱- Introduction

۲- Methods

۳- Results

۴- Discussion

۵- Conclusions

References

Abstract

Ideal cardiovascular health has been defined by the American Heart Association as the absence of clinically manifest cardiovascular disease together with the presence of favorable levels of cardiovascular health metrics. The ideal metrics are hard to achieve and the aim of this study was to assess the association between favorable cardiovascular health and perceived overall quality of life (QoL).
A cross-sectional study was conducted in Finland among 836 employees in 2014 (732 women, 104 men, mean age 48 (SD 10) years) from ten municipal work units. The ideal metrics were evaluated with a physical examination, laboratory tests, medical history and self-administered questionnaires. The cardiovascular health was categorized into three groups by achievement of the ideal metrics. QoL was assessed with the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index.
The prevalence of having 5–۷ of the ideal metrics was 25.1% (210), of having 3–۴ it was 53.6% (448) and for 0–۲ it was 21.3% (178). The EUROHIS-QOL mean score among all participants was 3.92 (SD 0.54). The EUROHIS-QOL mean score had a positive association with the sum of ideal metrics, and was 3.72, 3.91 and 4.10 among subjects with 0–۲, ۳–۴ and 5–۷ ideal metrics, respectively. Furthermore, poor sleep quality and disease burden had a significant negative association with QoL.
A favorable cardiovascular health status together with good sleep quality seems to have a clear association with overall quality of life among employees in municipal work units.

Introduction

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of deaths worldwide and the majority of these deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD) (Mendis et al., 2015). To prevent and control NCDs, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global action plan focusing on major risk factors for CVD (World Health Organization, 2013). Furthermore, the American Heart Association (AHA) has introduced a concept of ‘Ideal cardiovascular health’, with cut-off values for optimal levels of cardiovascular (CV) health metrics. The concept is defined by the absence of clinically manifest CVD together with the presence of favorable health behaviors and health factors. To achieve optimal levels of all these health metrics, the person should be non-smoking, have a normal body mass index (BMI), a healthy diet and fulfil the recommendations for physical activity. He/ she should have untreated blood pressure < 120/80 mmHg, untreated total cholesterol < 5.18 mmol/l (< 200 mg/dl) and a fasting plasma glucose of < 5.55 mmol/l (< 100 mg/dl) (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2010). However, the ideals of CV health are hard to achieve. In the US only 0.1% – 2% of adults reach the ideal levels in all 7 metrics (Folsom et al., 2011; Yang et al., 2012). In Finland 9% of women and 3% of men aged 25–۷۴ years reach at least 5 ideal metrics (Peltonen et al., 2014). The benefit of striving for these ideals seems to be significant, with reference to CVD and even all-cause mortality (Yang et al., 2012). Positive association between favorable CV health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the US adult population has also been reported previously (Allen et al., 2015; Odom et al., 2016).