Occupational Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Profile in the Adult Population of the Southern Cone of Latin America: Results From the CESCAS I Study

OBJECTIVE: We explore the association between occupational physical activity (OPA) and cardiovascular risk factors in four cities of the Southern Cone. METHODS: Robust multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the associations. RESULTS: The working population was constituted by 1868 men and 1672 women. Men performing high levels of OPA showed higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL; mean adj. diff. = 2.24 mg/dL; P = 0.004), lower levels of triglycerides (-24.59 mg/dL; P = 0.006), and total cholesterol (TC)/HDL ratio values (-0.21; P = 0.015) than reference. Women in the highest category of OPA had higher levels of HDL (2.85 mg/dL; P = 0.006), lower TC/HDL (0.27; P = 0.001), and low-density lipoprotein/HDL ratios (-0.18; P = 0.003) than sedentary activities. CONCLUSION: Individuals who performed high levels of OPA did not exhibit a worse cardiovascular risk profile and an improvement on selected biomarkers was observed when compared with those performing sedentary activities.Fil: Poggio, Rosana. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Melendi, Santiago Ezequiel. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Laura. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Elorriaga, Natalia. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Irazola, Vilma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentin

External Validation of Cardiovascular Risk Scores in the Southern Cone of Latin America: Which Predicts Better?

Introducción: La estimación inexacta del riesgo cardiovascular poblacional puede llevar a un manejo inadecuado de las intervenciones médicas preventivas, como, por ejemplo, el uso de estatinas. Objetivo: Evaluar la validez externa de ecuaciones de predicción de riesgo cardiovascular en población general del Cono Sur de Latinoamérica. Material y métodos: Se evaluaron ecuaciones que incluyen variables evaluadas en el estudio CESCAS y que predicen tanto morbilidad como mortalidad cardiovascular global (CUORE, Framingham, Globorisk y Pooled Cohort Studies Equations). Para cada ecuación se realizó un análisis independiente en el que se tuvieron en cuenta los eventos cardiovasculares relevados. Se evaluó la discriminación de cada ecuación a través del cálculo del estadístico-C y el índice Harrell C. Para evaluar la calibración se graficó la proporción de riesgos observados vs. estimados por quintilos de riesgo para cada ecuación y se calculó la pendiente β de regresión lineal para las estimaciones. Se calculó sensibilidad y especificidad para la detección de personas con elevado riesgo cardiovascular. Resultados: La mediana del tiempo de seguimiento de la cohorte al momento del análisis es de 2,2 años, con un rango intercuartilo de 1,9 a 2,8 años. Se incorporaron a los análisis 60 eventos cardiovasculares. Todos los valores de estadístico-C y del índice de Harrell fueron superiores a 0,7. El valor de la pendiente β más alejado de 1 fue el de Pooled Cohort Studies Euations. Conclusiones: Si bien los parámetros de validación externa evaluados fueron similares, CUORE, Globorisk y el índice de Framingham fueron las ecuaciones con mejores indicadores globales de predicción de riesgo cardiovascular.Background: Inaccurate estimates of demographic cardiovascular risk may lead to an inadequate management of preventive medical interventions such as the use of statins. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the external validity of cardiovascular risk equations in the general population of the Southern Cone of Latin America. Methods: Equations including variables evaluated in the CESCAS cohort study and that estimate overall cardiovascular mortality (CUORE, Framingham, Globorisk and Pooled Cohort Studies) were assessed. For each equation, an independent analysis was performed taking into account the cardiovascular events originally considered. Discrimination of each equation was evaluated through C-statistic and Harrell’s C-index. To assess calibration, a graph was built for each equation with the proportion of observed events vs. the proportion of estimated events by risk quintiles and the β slope of the resulting linear regression was calculated. Sensitivity and specificity were determined for the detection of people at high cardiovascular risk. Results: The median follow-up time of the cohort at the time of the analysis was 2.2 years, with an interquartile range of 1.9 to 2.8 years. Sixty cardiovascular events were incorporated into the analysis. All C-statistic and Harrell’s-C index values were greater than 0.7. The value of the β slope farthest from 1 was that of the Pooled Cohort Studies score. Conclusions: Although the external validation parameters evaluated were similar, CUORE, Globorisk and the Framingham equations showed the best global performance for cardiovascular risk estimation in our population.Fil: Gulayin, Pablo Elías. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Danaei, Goodarz. Harvard University. Harvard School of Public Health; Estados UnidosFil: Gutierrez, Laura. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Poggio, Rosana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Ponzo, Jaqueline. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Lanas, Fernando. Universidad de La Frontera; ChileFil: Rubinstein, Adolfo Luis. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Irazola, Vilma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentin

Eliminating artificial trans fatty acids in Argentina: estimated effects on the burden of coronary heart disease and costs

Objective: To estimate the impact of Argentine policies to reduce trans fatty acids (TFA) on coronary heart disease (CHD), disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and associated health-care costs. Methods: We estimated the baseline intake of TFA before 2004 to be 1.5% of total energy intake. We built a policy model including baseline intake of TFA, the oils and fats used to replace artificial TFAs, the clinical effect of reducing artificial TFAs and the costs and DALYs saved due to averted CHD events. To calculate the percentage of reduction of CHD, we calculated CHD risks on a population-based sample before and after implementation. The effect of the policies was modelled in three ways, based on projected changes: (i) in plasma lipid profiles; (ii) in lipid and inflammatory biomarkers; and (iii) the results of prospective cohort studies. We also estimated the present economic value of DALYs and associated health-care costs of coronary heart disease averted. Findings: We estimated that projected changes in lipid profile would avert 301 deaths, 1066 acute CHD events, 5237 DALYs and 17 million United States dollars (US$) in health-care costs annually. Based on the adverse effects of TFA intake reported in prospective cohort studies, 1517 deaths, 5373 acute CHD events, 26 394 DALYs and US$ 87 million would be averted annually. Conclusion: Even under the most conservative scenario, reduction of TFA intake had a substantial effect on public health. These findings will help inform decision-makers in Argentina and other countries on the potential public health and economic impact of this policy.Fil: Rubinstein, Adolfo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Elorriaga, Natalia. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Garay, Ulises. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Poggio, Rosana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Caporale, Joaquin. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Matta, Maria Gabriela. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Augustovski, Federico Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Pichón-Riviere, Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Mozaffarian, Dariush. Tufts University; Estados Unido

An innovative approach to improve the detection and treatment of risk factors in poor urban settings: a feasibility study in Argentina

Background: The effective management of cardiovascular (CVD) prevention among the population with exclusive public health coverage in Argentina is low since less than 30% of the individuals with predicted 10-year CVD risk ≥10% attend a clinical visit for CVD risk factors control in the primary care clinics (PCCs). Methods: We conducted a non-controlled feasibility study using a mixed methods approach to evaluate acceptability, adoption and fidelity of a multi-component intervention implemented in the public healthcare system. The eligibility criteria were having exclusive public health coverage, age ≥ 40 years, residence in the PCC’s catchment area and 10-year CVD risk ≥10%. The multi-component intervention addressed (1) system barriers through task shifting among the PCC’s staff, protected medical appointments slots and a new CVD form and (2) Provider barriers through training for primary care physicians and CHW and individual barriers through a home-based intervention delivered by community health workers (CHWs). Results: A total of 185 participants were included in the study. Of the total number of eligible participants, 82.2% attended at least one clinical visit for risk factor control. Physicians intensified drug treatment in 77% of participants with BP ≥140/90 mmHg and 79.5% of participants with diabetes, increased the proportion of participants treated according to GCP from 21 to 32.6% in hypertensive participants, 7.4 to 33.3% in high CVD risk and 1.4 to 8.7% in very high CVD risk groups. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure were lower at the end of follow up (156.9 to 145.4 mmHg and 92.9 to 88.9 mmHg, respectively) and control of hypertension (BP < 140/90 mmHg) increased from 20.3 to 35.5%. Conclusion: The proposed CHWs-led intervention was feasible and well accepted to improve the detection and treatment of risk factors in the poor population with exclusive public health coverage and with moderate or high CVD risk at the primary care setting in Argentina. Task sharing activities with CHWs did not only stimulate teamwork among PCC staff, but it also improved quality of care. This study showed that community health workers could have a more active role in the detection and clinical management of CVD risk factors in low-income communities.Fil: Poggio, Rosana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Danaei, Goodarz. Harvard University. Harvard School of Public Health; Estados UnidosFil: Gutierrez, Laura. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Cavallo, Ana. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, María Victoria. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Irazola, Vilma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentin

Dietary patterns in adult population from Argentina

1p.Background and objectives: Dietary patterns (DP) have been used to identify different combinations of foods that may be associated with mortality and risk of chronic disease. The objective of this study was to identify DP in the adult population of Argentina, and explore associations with socio-demographic features. Methods: We defined DP among 3,000 adults between 35 to 74 years old, participating in CESCAS I, a population-based cohort study carried out in two cities in Argentina, Marcos Paz and Bariloche. Data on food intake was obtained from a validated self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Principal component Analysis (PCA) was used to identify DP. A summary score for each pattern was then derived and used in multiple regression analysis to examine the relationship between DP and socio-demographic variables. Results: Using PCA, we identified 3 major eating patterns. The first factor (Traditional dietary pattern), was characterized by a high intake of refined grains, red meat, whole fat dairy products, vegetable oils, and ?mate?, a traditional South American infused drink frequently consumed in Argentina; the second factor (Healthy dietary pattern), was characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruit, low fat dairy products, whole grains, and legumes; the third factor (Processed-food dietary pattern) consisted mainly of processed meat, snacks, pizza, and ?empanadas?, a stuffed bread baked or fried. After adjusting for energy intake, we found that DP were associated with age, gender, and educational level. Healthy DP score was higher among women and high educational level (p=0.001) while men and young people scored significantly higher in the Processed-food DP (p=0.01). Conclusions: Local DP has been identified in our population. This study will provide useful information to set priority targets for nutrition interventions.https://www.karger.com/Article/PDF/354245Fil: Elorriaga, Natalia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Escuela de Nutrición. Cátedra de Evaluación Nutricional; Argentina.Fil: Defagó, María Daniela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Escuela de Nutrición. Universidad de Tulane. Escuela de Salud Pública. Cátedra de Salud Cardiovascular. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciuencias de la Salud; Argentina.Fil: Gutiérrez, Laura: Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Cátedra de Bioestadística y Metodología de la Investigación. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Cátedra Estadística de la Maestría en Efectividad Clínica; Argentina.Fil: Poggio, Rosana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires. Escuela de Medicina; Argentina.Fil: Irazola, Vilma. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Escuela de Medicina. Maestría en Efectividad Clínica. Cátedra de Medición de Resultados, Estadística Avanzada y Bioestadística; Argentina.Nutrición, Dietétic

Avances del estudio de evaluación del efecto del consumo de mate para reducir el riesgo cardiometabólico en Argentina

La enfermedad cardiometabólica (ECM) es la principal causa global de muerte y el 80% de estas muertes ocurre en países en desarrollo. Recientemente se han descripto beneficios de la yerba mate relacionados con la prevención de factores de riesgo cardiometabólico y la evidencia en humanos es limitada a estudios realizados en periodos cortos. Desde el 2011, en cuatro ciudades latinoamericanas se está llevando a cabo un estudio de cohorte prospectivo de base poblacional para la detección y el seguimiento de ECM y sus factores de riesgo en adultos de ambos sexos de 35 a 74 años, denominado CESCAS I

Educational intervention to improve effectiveness in treatment and control of patients with high cardiovascular risk in low-resource settings in Argentina: study protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION:Hypercholesterolaemia is estimated to cause 2.6 million deaths annually and one-third of the cases of ischaemic heart disease. In Argentina, the prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia increased between 2005 and 2013 from 27.9% to 29.8%. Only one out of four subjects with a self-reported diagnosis of coronary heart disease is taking statins. Since 2014, statins (simvastatin 20 mg) are part of the package of drugs provided free-of-charge for patients according to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk stratification. The goal of this study is to test whether a complex intervention targeting physicians and pharmacist assistants improves treatment and control of hypercholesterolaemia among patients with moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk in Argentina.METHODS AND ANALYSIS:This is a cluster trial of 350 patients from 10 public primary care centres in Argentina to be randomised to either the intervention or usual care. The study is designed to have 90% statistical power to detect a 0.7 mmol/L reduction in low-density lipoproteins cholesterol from baseline to 12 months. The physician education programme consists of a 2-day initial intensive training and certification workshop followed by educational outreach visits (EOVs) conducted at 3, 6 and 9 months from the outset of the study. An on-site training to pharmacist assistants during the first EOV is performed at each intervention clinic. In addition, two intervention support tools are used: an app installed in physician´s smartphones to serve as a decision aid to improve prescription of statins according to patient´s CVD risk and a web-based platform tailored to send individualised SMS messages to patients.ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Ethical approval was obtained from an independent ethics committee. Results of this study will be presented to the Ministry of Health of Argentina for potential dissemination and scale-up of the intervention programme to the entire national public primary care network in Argentina.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:NCT02380911.Fil: Gulayin, Pablo. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Irazola, Vilma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Lozada, Alfredo. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Chaparro, Raul Martin. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Santero, Marilina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Laura. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Poggio, Rosana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Beratarrechea, Andrea Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Rubinstein, Adolfo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentin

Association between drinking patterns and cardiovascular risk: a population-based study in the Southern Cone of Latin America

Background: Using data from general adult population, this study aims to describe epidemiology of alcohol consumption patterns and their association with cardiovascular risk. Methods: CESCAS I is a population-based study from four mid-sized cities in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Associations between diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and history of CVD and drinking patterns were assessed using crude prevalence odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted OR. Results: A total of 37.2% of the studied population never drank and 18.3% reported to be former drinkers. Among current drinkers, moderate drinking was the most frequent pattern (24.2%). For women with light and moderate consumption, the odds of having >20% CVD risk was ∼40% lower than that of never drinkers. The odds of having a history of CVD was 50% lower in those with moderate consumption. For men with heavy consumption, the odds of having >20% CVD risk was about twice as high as for never drinkers. Conclusions: A harmful association was observed between heavy drinking and having >20% CVD risk for men. However, for women, an apparently protective association was observed between light and moderate drinking and having >20% CVD risk and between moderate drinking and having a history of CVD.Fil: Gulayin, Pablo Elías. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Irazola, Vilma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Laura. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Elorriaga, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Lanas, Fernando. Universidad de La Frontera; ChileFil: Mores, Nora Cecilia. Municipalidad de Marcos Paz (buenos Aires).; ArgentinaFil: Ponzo, Jaqueline. Universidad de la Republica. Facultad de Medicina; UruguayFil: Calandrelli, Matías Enrique. Sociedad Rural de San Carlos de Bariloche.; ArgentinaFil: Poggio, Rosana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Rubinstein, Adolfo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Bardach, Ariel Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentin

La costo-efectividad de las intervenciones y políticas para el control de las enfermedades no transmisibles y sus factores de riesgo en América Latina y el Caribe: revisión sistemática

Las enfermedades no transmisibles (ENT) son la principal causa de muerte en las Américas; entre ellas, las enfermedades cardiovasculares (ECV) ocasionan 45% de las defunciones (Hospedales, Barcelo, Luciani y colaboradores 2012). Se calcula que en América Latina y el Caribe (ALC), las defunciones atribuibles a las ECV, en particular la enfermedad coronaria (EC), aumentarán en alrededor de 145%, tanto en los hombres como en las mujeres, entre 1990 y el año 2020. Estas cifras contrastan con un aumento de 28% en las mujeres y de 50% en los hombres durante el mismo periodo en los países desarrollados (Yusuf, Hawken, Ounpuu y colaboradores 2004).Fil: Watkin, David. No especifíca;Fil: Poggio, Rosana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Augustovski, Federico Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Brouwer, Elizabeth. No especifíca;Fil: Pichon Riviere, Andrés. No especifíca;Fil: Rubinstein, Adolfo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Nugent, Rachel. No especifíca

Association between drinking patterns and cardiovascular risk: a population-based study in the Southern Cone of Latin America

Background Using data from general adult population, this study aims to describe epidemiology of alcohol consumption patterns and their association with cardiovascular risk. Methods CESCAS I is a population-based study from four mid-sized cities in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Associations between diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and history of CVD and drinking patterns were assessed using crude prevalence odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted OR. Results A total of 37.2% of the studied population never drank and 18.3% reported to be former drinkers. Among current drinkers, moderate drinking was the most frequent pattern (24.2%). For women with light and moderate consumption, the odds of having >20% CVD risk was ~40% lower than that of never drinkers. The odds of having a history of CVD was 50% lower in those with moderate consumption. For men with heavy consumption, the odds of having >20% CVD risk was about twice as high as for never drinkers. Conclusions A harmful association was observed between heavy drinking and having >20% CVD risk for men. However, for women, an apparently protective association was observed between light and moderate drinking and having >20% CVD risk and between moderate drinking and having a history of CVD.Facultad de Ciencias Médica