Assessment of the 10-year risk of cardiovascular events among a group of Sub-Saharan African post-menopausal women

Abstract

Background: Post-menopausal women may be at particular risk of developing cardiovascu­lar disease due to metabolic changes occurring at menopause. The present study aimed to assess the 10-year cardiovascular risk (CVR) among a group of post-menopausal women and to deter­mine associated factors.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among post-menopausal women in Yaoundé, Cameroon. CVR was calculated using the Framingham risk score.

Results: We enrolled 108 women, their ages ranging from 45 to 80 years, with a mean of 56.4 ± ± 6.9 years. CVR ranged between 1.2% and greater than 30% with a mean of 13.4 ± 8.7%. Forty-three (39.8%) participants had a low CVR (< 10%), 39 (36.1%) women had a moderate CVR (10-20%), and 21 (24.1%) women had a high CVR (> 20%). Low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C; b = 3.27, p = 0.004), fasting plasma glucose (b = 5.40, p = 0.015), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP; b = 3.49, p < 0.0001) were independently associated with CVR. Women not married (i.e. single, divorced or widowed) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.66, p = 0.002), those with high titers of LDL-C (≥ 1.6 g/L; aOR 5.07, p = 0.001), and those with elevated DBP (≥ 90 mm Hg; aOR 8.10, p < 0.0001) presented an increased likelihood to be at an advanced level of CVR.

Conclusions: A significant number of post-menopausal women are at considerable risk of cardiovascular events in our setting. Therefore, they should be educated to adopt healthy life­styles for substantial reduction in their CVR.