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Assessment of ideal cardiovascular health metrics in refugees, East of Iran

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Abstract

Background

In 2013, there was an estimation of greater than 4.5 million Afghan refugees who had migrated to the least developed countries. Over one million are legally registered in Iran. We assessed the heart health status as described by the American Heart Association (AHA) in the Afghan refugee populace.

Methods

This cross-sectional survey was carried out on 1,634 Afghan refugees, including 746 males (45.7%) and 888 females (54.3%), selected through a convenience sampling method in 2016. The American Heart Association's seven cardiovascular health metrics were evaluated to specify the status of heart health in Afghan refugees. Differences with age and sex were analyzed using the χ2 test.

Results

Only one (0.1%) participant met the ideal for all seven cardiovascular health metrics. No significant differences were found between women and men in meeting the ideal criteria for more than five cardiovascular health metrics. As age increased, the proportion of refugees who met the ideal for more than five cardiovascular health metrics declined.

Conclusions

Refugees were not meeting the ideal cardiovascular health for some of the assessed metrics. Intervention to improve and monitor heart health in Afghan refugees is needed.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Research Deputy of Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Clinical Research Center at Birjand University of Medical Sciences, and all participants, without whom this study would not have been possible.

Funding

This research was supported by Birjand University of Medical Sciences.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

    Marjan Farzad

  2. Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center, Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Ghafari Street, South of Khorasan, 9717853577, Birjand, Iran

    Toba Kazemi

  3. Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

    Vida Mohammadparast, Saeede Khosravi Bizhaem & Zabihullah Mohaghegh

  4. School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

    Zohreh Khazaee

  5. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

    Seddigheh Kianfar

  6. Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center, Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran & Razi Clinical Research Development Unit (RCRDU), Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

    Nahid Azdaki

  7. Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

    Mahmoud Zardast

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  1. Marjan Farzad
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  2. Toba Kazemi
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  3. Vida Mohammadparast
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  8. Zabihullah Mohaghegh
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  9. Mahmoud Zardast
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [Vida Mohammadparast], [Zabihullah Mohageg] and [Saeede Khosravi Bizhaem]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [Marjan Farzad] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Toba Kazemi.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee of Birjand University of Medical Sciences (Ref: IR.BUMS.1395.258), which was gained by disclosing the research method and objectives and after obtaining written informed consent from all eligible elderly participants.

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Farzad, M., Kazemi, T., Mohammadparast, V. et al. Assessment of ideal cardiovascular health metrics in refugees, East of Iran. J Diabetes Metab Disord 20, 1479–1488 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-021-00890-4

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