Current Gaps in the Control of Cardiovascular Disease in Vietnam: A Systematic Review of Vietnamese-based Studies

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among all non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Vietnam. The objectives of the present study were to analyse contemporary gaps in CVD control studies, which were published in Vietnam between 2013 and 2017. A systematic literature review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses. Research articles written in English or Vietnamese, published between 2013 and 2017, and focused on the four main WHO themes of CVD control were identified. Among 11,385 Vietnamese-based CVD studies published during this period, only 119 studies (1.0%) were relevant to public health CVD control outcomes, and only 17 of 20 CVD indicators were addressed in these studies. Most studies were published in Vietnamese journals (73.9%), focused on disease and intermediate risk factors (73.9%), were cross-sectional (84.8%) and hospital-based (54.6%). We observed a lack of studies, many of which suffered design and analysis limitations, focused on several WHO themes for effective CVD control. Future Vietnamese-based CVD control studies should focus on the WHO-recommended themes and health indicators in broader community settings to provide better data to inform effective public health policies to control CVD.