The study indicates that lifestyle choices are correlated with the risk of cardiovascular disease

Mateusz Babicki, MD, PHD, Wroclaw Medical University | Image credit: loop

A recent multicenter retrospective transversal study revealed a direct correlation between healthy food choices, avoidance of food harm, daily routine, organized physical exercise and social and mental balance and the risk of Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in healthy individuals.¹

The MCV has long been the main cause of mortality in the world. The American Heart Association estimated that around 127.9 million Americans ≥20 years have an MCV, including heart failure, cerebral vascular accidents, hypertension or coronary diseases. 71% of American adults have an overweight or obesity and 24.2% respond to the recommendations of national physical activity.²

“Given the significant impact of the lifestyle on the development and the course of MCV, it is important to educate the public, including health professionals, the need to identify people at risk and allow them to change their behavior,” wrote Mateus Babicki, MD, PHD, Department of Family Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University and colleagues. “To obtain a significant impact on the reduction in cardiovascular risk, these actions must be carried out at the population level, with the implementation of systemic solutions.”¹

The team has collected information in 10 primary care establishments in Poland. They carried out an analysis of laboratory results and anthropometric measurements, mainly focusing on blood lipid panels (Total serum cholesterol, HDL, LDL, non-HDL, triglycerides) and glucose levels on serum fasting. To be included in the study, the participants had to fill all the following required characteristics:

• ≥40 years
• No MCV, diabetes or chronic kidney disease when seizing the study
• Carried out laboratory tests within 4 weeks before or after entering the study¹

Babicki and his colleagues included 836 individuals in the study, with a median age of 48 +/- 9.3 years. 64.4% of participants were women, 25% were current smokers and 15.7% were former smokers.¹

After being registered in the trial, the participants were invited to fulfill the questionnaire on the lifestyle and personal control (HLPCQ), a measure by which investigators could determine the frequency of lifestyle. On 26 questions, 12 refer to food choices, 2 to physical activity, 4 to social and mental factors, and 8 to the daily management of routine and time. Each question is based on the Likert scale at 4 degrees – the greatest number of points is correlated with a healthier lifestyle.¹

After an analysis of the risk of score2, 381 (45.5%) participants were classified as low at risk and 173 (20.6%) met the criteria of a very high risk group of CV events. The average HLPCQ score was 65.6 +/- 26.0 points.¹

To determine the impact of the lifestyle on laboratory results, the team carried out a univariate linear regression analysis. The analysis has shown that the higher scores in the sub -cheer of HLPCQ food choices were correlated at lower levels of non -HDL serum cholesterol (B = -.009, SE = 0.003, T = -3.196, P = 0.001) and higher levels of serum HDL cholesterol (b = 0.027, SE = 0.008, t = 3.529, P <0.001). A similar correlation has also been noted in the physical exercise sub-cheer. There was no correlation between the total score and the average serum total cholesterol levels.¹

Babicki and his colleagues concluded that lifestyle choices had a substantial impact on biochemical parameters. In particular, however, HLPCQ is not indicative of the long -term MCV risk of a person; Similar and similar tools are intended to help clinicians to implement interventions to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. The team declares that the HLPCQ is associated with risk factors for MCV, thus providing a method of reducing these risks to patients.¹

“As lifestyle is also a modifiable risk factor in cardiovascular disease and health and health professionals should be actively informed of its health impact,” wrote colleagues and colleagues. “HLPCQ is a useful tool for providing additional information facilitating MCT’s risk assessment.”¹

References

1. Babicki M, Ledwoch J, Zieliński T, et al. Assessment of cardiovascular risk factors and lifestyle effect in individuals without cardiovascular disease, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. SCI REP. 2025; 15 (1): 13544. Published on 2025 April 19. DOI: 10.1038 / S41598-025-98215-5

2. Martin SS, Aday Aw, Almarzooq Zi, et al. 2024 Statistics of heart disease and cerebral vascular accidents: a report of American and world data from the American Heart Association. Traffic. 2024; 149 (8). DOI: 10.1161 / CIR.0000000000001209