Cardiovascular risk factors among Russian, Somali and Kurdish migrants in comparison with the general Finnish population

Background: There is limited information on cardiovascular risk among migrants. We compared cardiovascular risk factors among three major migrant groups in Finland with the general population. Methods: Cross-sectional data from 30- to 64-year-old health examination participants (n = 921) of the Migrant Health and Wellbeing Study (2010–12) were used. Data for comparison with the general Finnish population were obtained from the Health 2011 Study (n = 892). Results: Russian men had a similar risk profile to that of the reference group. Kurdish men had lower prevalence of hypertension [prevalence ratio (PR) 0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39–0.79] but higher prevalence of dyslipidaemia (PR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02–1.24) and hyperglycaemia (PR: 2.61, 95% CI: 1.88–3.64) compared with the reference group. Somali men had lower prevalence of smoking (PR: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.08–0.44), hypertension (PR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.32–0.97)) and obesity (PR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.17–0.71) but higher prevalence of hyperglycaemia (PR: 2.59, 95% CI: 1.73–3.86) compared with the reference group. Similar patterns were observed for women, except for higher prevalence of hyperglycaemia among Russian women (PR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.26–3.01) and obesity among Kurdish and Somali women (PR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.15–1.72 and PR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.40–2.03, respectively) compared with the reference group. All migrant women had significantly lower prevalence of smoking than the reference group. Conclusions: There were significant variations in cardiovascular risk profiles of Kurdish and Somali migrants compared with the general population. Differences in cardiovascular risk factors by migrant group need to be taken into account in planning and implementing health promotion strategies.

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