Prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in ethnic minority adults in plateau areas: a cross-sectional study in Yunnan Province

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and clustering of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among ethnic minorities in plateau areas and their association with sociodemographic characteristics. From September 2023 to January 2024, data were collected among ethnic minorities in plateau areas of Yunnan Province through face-to-face interviews. Ordered logistic regression and restricted cubic splines were used to assess the association between sociodemographic characteristics and the risk of clustering of risk factors. A total of 2457 participants with a median age of 56.00 years were investigated. Insufficient vegetable and fruit intake (42.21%) was the most prevalent behavioral risk factor, followed by current smoking (26.62%). Hypertension (44.24%) was the most prevalent metabolic risk factor, followed by overweight/obesity (39.32%). Among participants, 44.36% had one behavioral risk factor, 21.69% had two, and 4.84% had three or more. The prevalence of participants having 1, 2, 3 or ≥ 4 metabolic risk factors was 29.55%, 21.86%, 15.83% and 5.54%, respectively. The clustering of behavioral risk factors was more prominent among participants aged 65–75, males, Tibetans, illiterates, and rural residents, while the risk of metabolic risk factor clustering was greater in older individuals, those with a high school education or higher, urban residents, and those with higher household incomes. CVD risk factors are highly prevalent and clustered among ethnic minorities in plateau areas of Yunnan Province, displaying heterogeneity across sociodemographic characteristics. Interventions targeting these risk factors may reduce the CVD burden of ethnic minorities in the plateau areas.