Community cardiometabolic screening in Slovakia: a cross-sectional study

Many people live with silent health risks that quietly build up over years, often without causing any noticeable symptoms until a serious problem arises. Two of the most common and dangerous of these hidden threats are high blood pressure and irregular blood sugar levels. High blood pressure, often called hypertension, is a condition where the force of blood against the walls of the arteries is consistently too high, straining the heart and vessels. Irregular blood sugar, known as dysglycaemia, occurs when the body struggles to manage glucose, a key sign that diabetes might be developing. Because these conditions can exist for a long time without making a person feel sick, many individuals remain unaware they are at risk until it is too late for simple prevention. This is why public health experts look for ways to find these issues early, especially in people who do not visit doctors regularly for check-ups.

In Slovakia, a team of researchers decided to test whether a community-based screening program could successfully uncover these hidden risks. They organized a project called "Zdravie na dosah," which translates to "Health at Hand," bringing medical measurements directly to the public in various local settings. The goal was not to treat people on the spot, but to act as a wide net, catching individuals who might otherwise slip through the cracks of the standard healthcare system. The team focused on measuring blood pressure, body size, and blood sugar levels in a large group of volunteers. By doing this, they hoped to see how many people had elevated risk factors and to understand which personal characteristics, such as age or gender, were most strongly linked to these conditions. This approach is vital because finding these risks early allows for timely advice and treatment, potentially preventing heart attacks, strokes, and other severe complications down the road.

The study involved 356 participants who attended these community events. The researchers collected a wide range of data, including age, sex, height, weight, waist size, and vital signs like heart rate and blood pressure. They also measured blood sugar from a small drop of capillary blood and checked lipid levels, which include cholesterol. Because these measurements happened in a busy public setting rather than a quiet clinic, not every person had every single test performed; some data points were missing, which is common in real-world community screenings. To handle this, the researchers used a sophisticated statistical method to fill in the gaps based on the patterns they saw in the available data, ensuring their conclusions were as accurate as possible. They defined high blood pressure as a reading of 140 over 90 millimeters of mercury or higher, and they defined irregular blood sugar as a random reading of 7.8 millimoles per liter or higher, noting that these were screening thresholds meant to flag people for further, more precise testing.

The results revealed a significant hidden burden of health risks within the community. Among the participants whose blood pressure was measured, nearly 40 percent had readings that met the criteria for hypertension. This means that a large portion of the people screened were living with high blood pressure without knowing it. Similarly, among those with measured blood sugar, 14 percent showed levels high enough to suggest dysglycaemia. The average age of the participants was 47 years, and the typical body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight, fell into the overweight range. The researchers found that as people got older, their risk of having high blood pressure or irregular blood sugar increased steadily. They also discovered that men were significantly more likely to have high blood pressure than women, even after accounting for other factors like body size.

When the researchers looked deeper into what specifically predicted these conditions, they found that age was a powerful independent factor for both high blood pressure and irregular blood sugar. For every additional year of age, the likelihood of having these conditions rose slightly but consistently. Being male was also a strong predictor for high blood pressure, with men showing a much higher risk than women. Interestingly, while body size and weight are often linked to these health issues, the study found that once age and sex were taken into account, body mass index and waist size did not independently predict high blood pressure or irregular blood sugar in this specific group. This suggests that the relationship between body size and these conditions is complex and closely tied to how age and gender influence the body. The study did not find that body weight alone was the sole driver in this context, highlighting that other factors play a crucial role.

The researchers emphasized that these findings support the value of community screening as a practical tool for public health. By reaching people outside of routine doctor visits, such programs can identify a substantial number of individuals who need further attention. The study showed that a structured follow-up is essential; those with high readings should be guided to repeat the measurements, undergo confirmatory diagnostic tests, and receive lifestyle advice or medical treatment if needed. The authors noted that their approach, which used advanced statistical techniques to handle missing data, allowed them to draw reliable conclusions from a real-world dataset that would have been difficult to analyze otherwise. Ultimately, the project demonstrated that a significant number of adults in the community carry a hidden burden of cardiometabolic risk, and that early detection through community screening can be a critical first step in preventing serious long-term health complications.