Abstract Background Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of premature mortality in Europe, yet contemporary population-level data on modifiable risk factors in adults eligible for primary prevention are limited. Large-scale screening programmes enable detailed assessment of age- and sex-specific patterns relevant to preventive strategies. Purpose To evaluate the prevalence and age- and sex-specific patterns of major modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in a large cohort of adults participating in a preventive screening programme. Methods We analysed adults aged 35–65 years screened between 2022 and 2024. Standardised assessments included blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, body-mass index, smoking, and physical activity. Individuals with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or familial hypercholesterolaemia were excluded. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, and year. Linear and polynomial regression models assessed age-related and temporal trends (p0.05). Results Among 1 187 168 adults, women constituted 59–63% (p0.001). Overweight affected 33.3–34.0% of women and 46.9–47.0% of men (p0.001), while obesity reached 21.3–22.2% and 29.8–30.3% (p0.001). In women, both increased steadily with age (p0.05), whereas in men obesity peaked in midlife (p0.05). Hypertension occurred in 21.0–23.0%, with higher prevalence in men (29.8–31.5%) than women (15.8–17.1%; p0.001) and increased with age in both sexes (p0.05). Elevated cholesterol was most frequent (63.5–66.9%) and exceeded 75% in older women, with sex-specific age trajectories (p0.05); levels increased in men across study years (p=0.047). Newly detected diabetes rose sharply with age, reaching 5.0% in men aged 60–65 years (p0.001 across groups). Smoking remained common (19–20% of women; 28% of men; p0.001), while low physical activity affected ~50% and showed opposite age patterns in women (declining) and men (increasing) (both p0.05). Conclusion This large contemporary cohort demonstrated a high burden of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, with consistent and clinically relevant sex- and age-specific disparities. Men showed substantially higher levels of hypertension, dyslipidaemia, excess body weight, smoking, and hyperglycaemia, while women exhibited a marked age-related rise in obesity and cholesterol. These findings underscore the need for targeted, sex- and age-adapted primary prevention strategies to improve cardiovascular risk control.
Kubielas et al. (Mon,) studied this question.