Poster Session I: Prevention and health policy: surveillance and early detection

P31 The CUORE Project Risk Observatory: the experience of blood donors L Palmieri, L De Matte’, M Longo, C Lo Noce, F Dima, C Donfrancesco, S Giampaoli Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy, CINECA Consorzio Interuniversitario, Bologna, Italy, IRCCS Osp. Maggiore Policlinico Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Milano, Italy Topic: CVD surveillance Purpose: Blood donation represents an opportunity for cardiovascular (CVD) risk assessment and healthy lifestyle counselling. As part of the CUOREProject, blood donor organizations were encouraged to assess CVD risk. Methods: The cuore.exe software was the framework for data collection. The observatory of cardiovascular disease risk (OCR) aims to provide the National Institute of Health with a database to evaluate experience with risk assessment and risk factors, and to compare results at regional and national level in order to aid health policy makers in their decision process. Results: By September 2009, 21,027 CVD risk assessments were performed in 12,420 blood donors; 6,358 blood donors were assessed twice in one year; 72% of the sample were men and 28% women; mean age was 45 years (men) and 46 years (women). Mean level of CR (average estimated percentage of persons who will experience a major CVD event in 10 years) was 1% for women and 3% for men; 67% of men and 95% of women were at lower risk (CR <3%); 0.3% of men were at very high risk (CR =20%). Among those with at least two risk assessments one year apart, 2% shifted to lower risk. Mean level of systolic blood pressure decreased by about 0.8 mmHg in men and 2.6 mmHg in women and diastolic blood pressure decreased by about 0.7 mmHg in men and 1.8 mmHg in women; total cholesterol by 7 mg/dl in men and 4 mg/dl in women, HDL-cholesterol increased by 0.6 mg/dl in men and 2.5 mg/dl in women; prevalence of smokers did not change. Conclusions: Blood donors are not representative of the general population: they are a lower risk group due to younger age. Blood donation represents an opportunity to involve younger adults in CVD risk assessment and foster healthy lifestyles. The National Health System encourages use of blood donation to provide free examination of risk factors and CVD risk assessment, as an aid to CVD prevention. Routine application of CVD risk assessment for blood donors is strongly recommended.