Ethnicity and cardiovascular prevention in Dutch primary care

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is globally the leading cause of death and disability, but with substantial variation across populations. In Europe, migrant populations are often at greater CVD risk than host populations. Despite this known disparity, current CVD risk prediction models for mainland Europe do not include ethnicity. As a result, treatment decisions may be based on underestimations of risk for most migrant populations. In addition, differences between migrant and host populations may exist in the effectiveness of preventive medical treatments, and certain lifestyle habits may require a more culturally sensitive approach to effectively reduce CVD risk factors. Limited research has been conducted on the potential influence of ethnicity on CVD risk and treatment. This thesis aimed to include ethnicity in CVD risk prediction and investigate its potential impact on preventive management, from both the perspective of the healthcare provider, as well as the patient’s perspective. These efforts may ultimately contribute to identifying strategies to narrow ethnic CVD disparities.