Framingham Risk Score for the prediction of cardiovascular risk in Saudi population

Background: Many previous studies confirm that cardiovascular disease (CVD) development has a strong relationship with many risk factors. The Framingham Risk Score (FRS) is one of the most widely used risk assessment methods for prediction of coronary artery disease risk (CAD). The objective of this study was to study the FRS with relation to obesity in a Saudi population and associate it with risk of cardiovascular diseases. In the present study, we compare Framingham risk factors among normal weight and obese for both genders. Methods: This study was conducted on 212 unrelated individuals. 106 were non-obese (BMI = 18.5-24.9 kg/m 2 ) while 106 were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ). Major risk factors identified by the Framingham Heart Study, including sex, age, smoking, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were incorporated into a scoring system that identifies subjects at high (˃20%), intermediate (10%–20%), and low (˂10%) risk for developing CAD over the next 10 years. Results: The results show that CVD risk factors were more prevalent among obese than normal weight subjects. In male subjects, the difference was statistically significant with regards to hypertension (p=0.000), triglycerides (p=0.033), HDL (p=0.048), fasting blood glucose (p=0.038). In female subjects, the difference was statistically significant for age (p=0.008), cholesterol (p=0.015), triglycerides (p=0.011), low density lipoprotein (p=0.017) and fasting blood glucose (p=0.000). Conclusion: These findings carry implications for clinical practice: Obese adults without clinical cardiovascular disease may already have a clustering of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Institution of early and aggressive preventive measures in this population could delay or arrest progression to clinical cardiovascular disease.