2023-10-13 17:03:00
It is a scheme capable of defining which modifiable factor reduces cardiovascular risk in a person. This is the ‘Moli-sani Risk Score’ developed as part of the Moli-sani Project, launched between 2005 and 2010 and which involved 24,325 men and women from the Molise region. The numerical scoring system, based on various modifiable risk factors – from smoking to triglycerides – evaluates the contribution that each makes to the risk of developing a cardiovascular disease by quantifying the risk reduction potentially obtainable from adequate prevention strategies in the individual subject.
Published in the ‘International Journal of Cardiology’, the algorithm was created, in the context of the Irccs cardiology network, by the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention of the Irccs Neuromed of Pozzilli (Isernia), in collaboration with Mediterranea Cardiocentro of Naples, Cardiology Center Monzino Irccs of Milan, Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine of the University of Milan, Cardiovascular Prevention Laboratory of the Mario Negri Irccs Institute of Milan and Department of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Insubria of Varese.
Cardiovascular diseases – explains a note – are largely preventable through interventions aimed at modifiable risk factors. A healthy lifestyle can prevent more than 80% of cases of coronary heart disease. Risk Scores are fundamental tools for doctors, who are thus helped to identify who is at low or high risk of disease, guiding more personalized clinical decisions. The risk factors taken into consideration by the algorithm are: smoking habits, diet, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels, triglycerides and glucose, blood pressure, fat mass and physical activity, all well known and, above all, all modifiable with simple changes. in your lifestyle. What makes the Moli-sani Risk Score particularly innovative and relevant is the inclusion in the calculation of the contribution of the Mediterranean diet, recognized for its beneficial effects on cardiovascular health.
The Moli-sani Risk Score, unlike those available and calibrated for the populations of the United States and Northern Europe, takes into account the specific peculiarities of the Italian context. “To best quantify the role of cardiovascular risk factors – underlines Augusto Di Castelnuovo of the Mediterranea Cardiocentro of Naples – the Moli-sani Risk Score was developed as a weighted sum of its components, with weights that reflect the strength of the association of each risk factor with the cardiovascular risk. Another feature of the algorithm is that each risk factor contributes continuously to the score: the weight of a factor increases the further its value deviates from the optimal level.”
Thanks to this thoughtful approach and the focus on the specific characteristics of the Italian population, the new algorithm is something unique in its kind, and will be able to improve the effectiveness of prevention interventions. “The algorithm – adds Licia Iacoviello, director of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention of Irccs Neuromed and full professor of Hygiene and Public Health at the University of Insubria of Varese-Como – can be used to design intervention strategies, quantify the effectiveness and compare different cardiovascular prevention approaches. This will make it easier for doctors to communicate with interested people. It will in particular be used in the Cv-Prevital intervention study of the IRCCS cardiology network and will be the first entirely developed in a European country, therefore having the potential to be used in populations that share similar characteristics”.
The algorithm, like its analogues created in other countries – concludes the note – is not able to predict global cardiovascular risk at an individual level, as it does not take into account risk factors such as age and gender which are not modifiable. Instead, it should be considered as a suitable tool for measuring the combined role of multiple modifiable risk factors.
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