Prevalence, Concordance, and Related Factors of Four Cardiovascular Risk Calculators in the Peruvian Population: Analysis of a National Survey

Introduction Cardiovascular risk calculators (CVR) are essential for effectively preventing and managing cardiovascular diseases. Objective To determine the prevalence, the concordance among different CVR calculators, and the factors associated with these in the Peruvian population. Methods Analysis of data collected by the Food and Nutritional Surveillance Survey by Life Stages. The CVR calculators used were the AHA/ASCVD, World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory-based and non-laboratory-based, and Framingham. The percentage of risk for each individual in the study was calculated, categorizing the CVR of each calculator into low (<10%) vs moderate/high (≥10%). Concordance was analyzed through the kappa index. Results The level of moderate/high CVR risk according to the type of calculator used was 5.44%, 4.73%, 6.62%, and 23.88% for WHO laboratory-based, non-laboratory-based, AHA/ASCVD, and Framingham, respectively. Common related factors identified were male gender, age between 50–59 years, current smoker, hypertension, and diabetes. WHO laboratory-based and AHA/ASCVD showed higher concordance (kappa of 0.7289). In contrast, concordance between WHO laboratory-based and Framingham and between WHO non-laboratory-based and Framingham was relatively lower (kappa of 0.3098 and 0.2732, respectively). Conclusions There are discrepancies in CVR levels according to the different calculators evaluated, especially with Framingham, and common associated factors were identified. These variations suggest that prediction tools might not be universally applicable in their current form, making it essential to consider calibrating existing risk calculators or developing new tools that more accurately reflect the epidemiological and health profiles of the Peruvian population.