Better agreement between cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction algorithms for non-migrant Ghanaians

Recent research examined agreement between cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk predictions of three algorithms (Framingham non-laboratory, Framingham laboratory, and Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE))  in Ghanaian populations in both Ghana and Europe. 3586 participants without obvious signs of CVD were assessed for their 10-year CVD risk and stratified as low (<10%), moderate (10-20%), and high (>20%) risk.

The results showed significant differences in risk profiles of migrant Ghanaians compared to non-migrant populations: higher body mass indices, systolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, diabetes and current smoking rates. For the total study population, the forecasted high 10-year CVD risk across the three algorithms was 19.4% for Framingham non-laboratory, 12.3% for Framingham laboratory, and 5.8% for PCE.

Agreement between algorithms was better in Ghana compared to Europe: there was 73.1% agreement between Framingham-non laboratory and PCE estimates at the Ghana site, and even higher agreement when comparing Framingham non-laboratory versus Framingham laboratory predictions at the same site (86.2%). For detailed information about this research, click here.