Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence and Control by Education Strata in Older Adults in 3 Countries

How do cardiovascular risk factor prevalence and control differ over time and by education strata among adults aged 50 years or older in the US, England, and South Korea? In this secondary analysis of a serial cross-sectional study of 120 678 adults, the US had the highest prevalence of high cholesterol level, hypertension, and diabetes. Conditional on risk, risk factor awareness, treatment, and control were generally similar or better in the US, and control among those at risk was generally comparable by education strata. This study’s results suggest that differences in risk accumulation, rather than risk factor treatment, primarily contribute to international and educational disparities in cardiovascular outcomes.

Corresponding Author: David Cutler, Department of Economics, Harvard University, 1805 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (dcutler@harvard.edu).

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