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Qingdao Port Cardiovascular Health Study: a prospective cohort study
  1. Erica S Spatz1,2,
  2. Xianyan Jiang3,
  3. Jiapeng Lu4,
  4. Frederick A Masoudi5,
  5. John A Spertus6,
  6. Yongfei Wang1,2,
  7. Xi Li4,
  8. Nicholas S Downing1,
  9. Khurram Nasir8,9,
  10. Xue Du4,
  11. Jing Li4,
  12. Harlan M Krumholz1,2,10,11,
  13. Xiancheng Liu3,7,
  14. Lixin Jiang4
  1. 1Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale University/Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
  2. 2Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
  3. 3Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Qingdao Fuwai Hospital, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
  4. 4National Clinical Research Center of Cardiovascular Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China
  5. 5Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
  6. 6Department of Health Outcomes Research, Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute/University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
  7. 7Qingdao Fuwai Hospital, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
  8. 8Center for Healthcare Advancement & Outcomes, Baptist Health South Florida, Miami, Florida, USA
  9. 9Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, Baptist Health South Florida, Miami, Florida, USA
  10. 10The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
  11. 11Department of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
  1. Correspondence to Professor Lixin Jiang; jiangl{at}fwoxford.org

Abstract

Purpose In China, efforts are underway to respond to rapidly increasing rates of heart disease and stroke. Yet the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease in China may be different from that of other populations. Thus, there is a critical need for population-based studies that provide insight into the risk factors, incidence and outcomes of cardiovascular disease in China. The Qingdao Port Cardiovascular Health Study is designed to investigate the burden of cardiovascular disease and the sociodemographic, biological, environmental and clinical risk factors associated with disease onset and outcomes.

Participants For this study, from 2000 through 2013, 32 404 employees aged 18 years or older were recruited from the Qingdao Port Group in China, contributing 221 923 annual health assessments. The mean age at recruitment was 43.4 (SD=12.9); 79% were male. In this ongoing study, annual health assessments, governed by extensive quality control mechanisms, include a questionnaire (capturing demographic and employment information, medical history, medication use, health behaviours and health outcomes), physical examination, ECG, and blood and urine analysis. Additional non-annual assessments include an X-ray, echocardiogram and carotid ultrasound; bio-samples will be collected for future genetic and proteomic analyses. Cardiovascular outcomes are accessed via self-report and are actively being verified with medical insurance claims; efforts are underway to adjudicate outcomes with hospital medical records.

Findings to date Early findings reveal a significant increase in cardiovascular risk factors from 2000 to 2010 (hypertension: 26.4–39.4%; diabetes: 3.3–8.9%; hyperlipidaemia: 5.0–33.6%; body mass index >28 m/kg2: 14.1–18.6%).

Future Plans We aim to generate novel insights about the epidemiology and outcomes of cardiovascular disease in China, with specific emphasis on the potentially unique risk factor profiles of this Chinese population. Knowledge generated will be disseminated in the peer-reviewed literature, and will inform population-based strategies to improve cardiovascular health in China.

Trial registration number NCT02329886.

  • population surveillance
  • cardiovascular diseases
  • longitudinal studies
  • cohort studies
  • outcomes research

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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