Cholesterol Control Improves But Cardiovascular Disease Still Increases In Mexico

Despite improved statin usage and cholesterin control, cardiovascular illness consequence roseate successful Mexico betwixt 2016 and 2023, according to a study being presented astatine ACC Latin America 2025 that utilized region-specific devices to much accurately foretell nan section illness burden.

Cardiovascular illness is nan starring origin of decease successful nan world, costing billions each twelvemonth successful care. Factors specified arsenic socioeconomics, demographics, hypertension, cholesterol, aerial pollution, obesity and much tin play a domiciled successful nan types of cardiovascular illness (CVD) load a state aliases region whitethorn beryllium astir impacted by. Most models to foretell cardiovascular illness consequence usage information from high-income countries aliases from low- and middle-income settings extracurricular Latin America and nan Caribbean (LAC), but successful this study researchers utilized 2 region-specific tools.

Any determination regarding nan implementation of consequence models, whether based connected nationalist aliases location recommendations, must trust connected nan astir meticulous devices disposable for nan target population. This applies whether nan exemplary is utilized successful objective believe aliases for nationalist wellness purposes. This is peculiarly important for wellness attraction professionals and stakeholders, whose decisions astir which exemplary to adopt tin straight power cardinal outcomes specified arsenic cost-effectiveness, wellness gains crossed different cardiovascular conditions, reimbursement policies and nan successful implementation of preventive strategies."

César Daniel Paz-Cabrera, MD, specialty successful preventive medicine astatine nan Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública successful Mexico City and study's lead author

The study analyzed information from nan 2016-2023 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Surveys (ENSANUT) to estimate cardiovascular consequence successful Mexico. Risk factors included systolic humor pressure, full cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, assemblage wide index, activity and age. The researchers estimated consequence class prevalence and power of cardinal factors by consequence levels.

Researchers utilized 2 region-specific tools-Globorisk-LAC and World Health Organization (WHO) models-to estimate cardiovascular illness consequence trends successful Mexico. According to Paz, some models usage akin consequence factors to estimate 10-year consequence for coronary artery illness and stroke. The cardinal quality is their root populations: Globorisk-LAC relies connected information from 9 cohorts crossed six LAC countries to create consequence tables for 31 LAC countries, including Mexico, while WHO uses information chiefly from high-income regions and provides charts only for subregions wrong LAC.

Both models recovered nan mean 10-year CVD consequence accrued betwixt 2016 and 2023. The Globorisk-LAC lab-based and office-based models estimated mean risks of 9.5% and 9.2%. The WHO exemplary besides recovered CVD consequence had increased, it yielded a little 4.4% increase. WHO models whitethorn underestimate CVD consequence because organization information utilized to estimate apt see immoderate group already connected prevention therapies, Paz said. Additionally, Mexican adults person higher burdens of obesity, glucosuria and precocious cholesterin astatine younger ages, which are not afloat captured by world coefficients. As a result, nan WHO exemplary tends to "flatten" section consequence gradients, underestimating nan existent CVD burden, he said.

Statin usage among those eligible based connected Globorisk-LAC lab-based criteria (age, sex, smoking, systolic humor pressure, full cholesterol, glucosuria status) roseate from 1% successful 2016 to 59% successful 2023. According to information from nan National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) successful Mexico, LDL-C power (also known arsenic "bad" cholesterol) improved successful low, mean and high-risk groups, but worsened successful nan very high-risk group, demonstrating gaps successful secondary prevention. By 2023, humor sweetener power reached 78.6% and 46.5% for humor unit control.

"Public wellness measures such arsenic taxation of sugary drinks, front-of-package informing labels, nan elimination of industrially produced trans-fatty acids, and nan prohibition of advertizing and trading ultra-processed foods and sugary beverages successful acquisition institutions person proven highly effective successful Mexico and different countries successful LAC," Paz said.

Other imaginable interventions see nan correct implementation of existent guidelines and nationalist wellness attraction protocols precocious approved by nan Mexican Ministry of Health, which supply evidence-based recommendations for nan prevention, test and curen of privilege diseases defined by nan General Health Council, including hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity and overweight. According to Paz, ensuring businesslike mechanisms for nan procurement of medicines and aesculapian supplies is basal to debar delays successful screening strategies, preventing curen abandonment and reducing nan consequence of early complications.