CVD mortality, morbidity and risk factors among Turkish and Moroccan migrants in Europe

The incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is rapidly increasing worldwide. It is the leading cause of death and CVD highly contributes to the global burden of disease. Smoking, high cholesterol, high (systolic) blood pressure, diabetes and obesity are major CVD risk factors. There are indications that ethnic differences in the pattern of CVD mortality and morbidity exist between Turkish and Moroccan migrant groups and the western European population. However, in spite of the fact that Turkish and Moroccan migrant groups constitute a considerable part of the population in several European countries, they are often poorly represented in epidemiological studies. In the Netherlands, just as in the total European population, the Turkish are the largest ethnic minority group. With an absolute number of 384,000 residents they constitute 2.3% of the Dutch population. Moroccan migrants are the second largest ethnic minority group in the Netherlands and account for 2.1% (349,000) of the population. The fact that these groups are often underrepresented in studies investigating CVD and related risk factors has resulted in a limited amount of information on this topic. There is a particular lack of information on cardiovascular risk factors based on physical examinations to complement self-reported survey data. In this thesis the cardiovascular risk profiles of Turkish and Moroccan ethnic groups in western European countries, such as the Netherlands were studied. CVD mortality, morbidity and risk factors among Turkish and Moroccan migrants in Europe First of all, the available literature on CVD mortality, morbidity and risk factors among Turkish and Moroccan migrant groups in Europe was studied by means of a systematic review (chapter 2). Although the number of publications covering CVD and its determinants among these migrant groups has increased in the last decade, this overview clearly shows that their number is still limited. Performing research among migrant groups is challenging; low participation rates and small, selective samples make it difficult to project study results onto the total migrant population. Another limitation of many studies is the use of self-reported data. Furthermore, apart from the fact that migrant populations in different countries are not necessarily comparable, the comparability of studies is further hampered by differences in design and variations in the definition of ethnicity resulting in different subpopulations within migrant groups. Drawing sound conclusions on CVD mortality, morbidity and risk 11. SUMMARY profiles among Turkish and Moroccan migrants based on the available literature is, therefore, difficult. The number of …