Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease has a high prevalence and mortality rate, which are mainly due to the aging population and the high prevalence and clustering of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs); however, studies on the aging Chinese population are limited. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence and clustering of CRFs among the elderly population to provide evidence for the overall planning of medical resources and disease management. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 41,517 participants aged ≥ 65 years were recruited from January 2020 to April 2021 in the Yuexiu district, Guangzhou city, China. Sociodemographic and health examination data were collected. RESULTS: Among the 41,517 participants, 42.2% were male. The prevalence rates of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, overweight/obesity, and smoking were 87.1%, 33.3%, 47.6%, 45.5%, and 7.6%, respectively. Participants with ≥ 1, ≥2, and ≥ 3 CFRs accounted for 96.3%, 75.0%, and 38.7% of the study population, respectively. After adjusting for sex, education level, marital status, and physical activity level, older age and drinking were independent risk factors for CRF clustering. CONCLUSIONS: Excluding smoking, there is a high prevalence of CRFs in the elderly population of Southern China, especially hypertension. In addition, the clustering of CRFs was high. In the future, a healthy lifestyle should be promoted in the elderly, and the prevention and management of CRFs should be optimized according to the prevalence and cluster characteristics.