Gender prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in the geriatric population of India: A meta-analysis using R

摘要

BACKGROUND Population ageing is an important challenge for developed as well as developing countries due to the downward trends in mortality rates.The elderly population is increasing worldwide.Cardiovascular diseases(CVDs)are one of the most common diseases in the geriatric population.These diseases involve the heart or blood vessels and include hypertension,rheumatic heart disease,heart failure,and heart attack.An estimated 17.7 million people in India will die from CVDs representing 31%of all global deaths.AIM To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the gender prevalence of CVDs in the geriatric population of India.METHODS In the present study,we searched databases such as Google Scholar,PubMed and MEDLINE from the year 2003 to 2019 to identify the prevalence of CVDs in the Indian geriatric population.A meta-analysis was conducted using the statistical software R version 3.4.3 and the random effect model was used to determine the pooled estimate of the prevalence of CVDs in the geriatric population of India along with the 95%confidence interval rather than using the fixed effect model.The random effect model takes into consideration the heterogeneity across the various studies.RESULTS The prevalence of CVDs in the Indian geriatric population was determined in 6586 male subjects from 32 studies and 8164 female subjects from 32 studies,respectively.The overall prevalence of CVDs in the Indian geriatric population was 36.6%(95%CI:31.9%-41.3%).In addition,calculation of the various heterogeneity statistics(Cochran’s Q=3836.85,I2=98.6%,P<0.0001)indicated heterogeneity in the prevalence of CVDs in the elderly Indian population in these studies.The prevalence of CVDs in elderly males was 38.0%(95%CI:33.0%-43.0%)and the prevalence of CVDs in elderly females was 40.9%(95%CI:35.5%-46.2%).CONCLUSION The results indicate that the prevalence of CVDs in the female geriatric population was relatively higher than that in the male geriatric population.Policy makers must take immediate steps to prevent CVDs and improve geriatric health care services in India.