Table 1.
Distribution of ideal, intermediate and poor CVH for each metric for adults free of CVD, NHANES 2011–20185
| AHA definitions of CVH for each metric | Total sample (n=9326) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | ||
| Ideal | Never or quit>12 mo | 7003 (75.2) |
| Intermediate | Former≤12 mo | 216 (2.9) |
| Poor | Yes | 2107 (22.0) |
| Body mass index, n (%) | ||
| Ideal | < 25 kg/m2 | 2890 (31.1) |
| Intermediate | 25–29.9 kg/m2 | 2937 (32.6) |
| Poor | ≥ 30 kg/m2 | 3499 (36.3) |
| Physical activity, n (%) | ||
| Ideal | ≥150 min/week moderate intensity or≥75 min/week vigorous intensity or≥150 min/week moderate+vigorous | 3660 (41.9) |
| Intermediate | 1–149 min/week moderate intensity or 1–74 min/week vigorous intensity or 1–149 min/week moderate+vigorous | 625 (7.6) |
| Poor | None | 5041 (50.5) |
| Healthy diet score *, n (%) | ||
| Ideal | 4–5 components | 201 (2.2) |
| Intermediate | 2–3 components | 4046 (44.3) |
| Poor | 0–1 components | 5079 (53.5) |
| Total cholesterol, n (%) | ||
| Ideal | < 200 mg/dL | 5213 (54.1) |
| Intermediate | 200–239 mg/dL or treated to goal | 2548 (28.7) |
| Poor | ≥ 240 mg/dL | 1565 (17.2) |
| Blood pressure, n (%) | ||
| Ideal | <120/<80 mm Hg | 4474 (49.1) |
| Intermediate | SBP 120–139 or DBP 80–89 mm Hg or treated to goal | 2933 (31.9) |
| Poor | SBP≥140 or DBP≥90 mm Hg | 1919 (20.0) |
| Glycated haemoglobin A1c, n (%) | ||
| Ideal | < 5.7% | 6509 (76.0) |
| Intermediate | 5.7%–6.4% or treated to goal | 1945 (16.8) |
| Poor | > 6.4% | 875 (7.2) |
*AHA’s healthy diet score includes five components: fruits and vegetables, whole grain, fish, sodium, and sugar-sweeten beverage, and a very small proportion (<0.5%) of US adults meet the ideal healthy diet. HEI-2010 is a continuous score consisting of 12 components representing major food groups including fruit and vegetables, whole grains, proteins, dairy, oils, sodium and empty calories. HEI-2010 score ranges from 0 to 100 with a higher score indicates more healthy diet. HEI-2010 has been validated to represent the diet quality in population. We used HEI-2010 as a proxy for AHA’s healthy diet score with ideal diet: HEI-2010≥81; intermediate diet: 51–80; and poor diet: ≤ 50.
CVH, cardiovascular health; CVD, cardiovascular disease; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; AHA, The American Heart Association; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; SBP, systolic blood pressure.