The Health Examination Survey 2018-2019 of the CUORE Project is coordinated by the Department of Cardiovascular, Endocrine-metabolic Diseases and Aging of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità

 

The objectives of the survey, addressed to the general adult population (35-74 years), are to:

1. estimate the distribution of risk factors (arterial blood pressure, heart rate, weight, height, body mass index, waist and hips circumference);
2. study the distribution of life habits (physical activity, smoking habits, diet, alcohol consumption);
3. estimate the prevalence of conditions at risk (arterial hypertension, overweight and obesity, smoking habits);
4. evaluate the temporal trend of risk factors distribution (arterial blood pressure, heart rate, weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference and hips);
5. evaluate the temporal trend of life habits distribution (physical activity, smoking habits, diet, alcohol consumption);
6. evaluate the temporal trend of the prevalence of conditions at risk (arterial hypertension, overweight and obesity, smoking habits);
7. monitor national lifestyles campaigns, in particular estimate the average daily consumption of sodium, potassium and iodine per capita, as a result of the “Guadagnare Salute” program of the Ministry of Health;
8. evaluate physical performance, attention and memory in the elderly population (65-74 years);
9. study the degree of health literacy;

The survey is conducted in 10 Italian regions, distributed between North, Central and South; in each region, a sample of 200 people is enrolled, stratified by gender and age group, randomly extracted from the general population residing in a selected municipality. For each age group (35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74) and sex, 25 people are drawn.

 

The survey is promoted and funded by the Ministry of Health - National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CCM) for activities related to the CCM 2017 project - Central Actions Area - entitled "Monitoring of average daily sodium consumption in the population Italian ".

 

Examined population sample: 2106 persons (1.035 men e 1.071 women)

 

Age range: 35-74 years

 

Base line: April 2018-December 2019

 

Biological sample collection: 24 hour urine

 

Biological samples: N=2081

 

Collected data at the base line:

• socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, educational level, employment, marital status);
• lifestyles (smoking habit, alcohol consumption, nutritional behaviour and food frequency, physical activity);
• use of drugs and supplements;
• history of cardiovascular diseases (previous myocardial infarction, stroke, angina pectoris, intermittent claudication, atrial fibrillation, previous aorto-coronary, artery bypass surgery or revascularization, transient ischemic attack-TIA);
• familiarity with coronary, cerebrovascular diseases and cancer, diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia / hypertriglyceridemia;
• measurement of blood pressure and heart rate;
• measurement of weight, height, waist and hip circumference;
• execution of bone densitometry;
• ability to perform basic and instrumental daily activities for personal care;
• in people aged 65 years and over: quality of life, cognitive function and physical performance assessment
• health literacy

Laboratory analysis: urinary excretion of sodium, potassium, iodine and creatininuria from 24-hour urine collection.

 

Follow-up data: not yet available.

 

Consult the pages dedicated to the survey in each regions:

 

 

The detection of instrumental and hematochemical examinations follows standardized procedures and methodologies and quality control recommended by the international guidelines.

 

The Istituto Superiore di Sanità coordinates the organization of the survey, training, methods standardization, data collection, implementation of measures, quality control, and performs data analysis and results dissemination.

 

Thanks to the adoption of standardized methodologies and procedures, the investigations of the Progetto CUORE conducted in the last decades represent the Italian point of reference for the studies based on the direct examination of the population relative to cardiovascular and other chronic-degenerative diseases. The results of the data analysis are available for the single regions and for Italy as a whole in the CuoreData section.

 

Publications:

• Donfrancesco C, Profumo E, Lo Noce C, Minutoli D, Di Lonardo A, Buttari B, Vespasiano F, Vannucchi S, Galletti F, Onder G, Colivicchi F, Galeone D, Bellisario P, Palmieri L. Trends of overweight, obesity and anthropometric measurements among the adult population in Italy: The CUORE Project health examination surveys 1998, 2008, and 2018. PLoS One. 2022 Mar 1;17(3):e0264778.
• Donfrancesco C, Lo Noce C, Russo O, Buttari B, Profumo E, Minutoli D, Di Lonardo A, Iacone R, Vespasiano F, Vannucchi S, Onder G, Galletti F, Galeone D, Bellisario P, Di Lenarda A, Giampaoli S, Palmieri L, Strazzullo P. Trend in potassium intake and Na/K ratio in the Italian adult population between the 2008 and 2018 CUORE project surveys. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2021 Mar 10;31(3):814-826.
• Donfrancesco C, Lo Noce C, Russo O, Minutoli D, Di Lonardo A, Profumo E, Buttari B, Iacone R, Vespasiano F, Vannucchi S, Onder G, Galletti F, Galeone D, Bellisario P, Gulizia MM, Giampaoli S, Palmieri L, Strazzullo P. Trend of salt intake measured by 24-h urine collection in the Italian adult population between the 2008 and 2018 CUORE project surveys. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2021 Mar 10;31(3):802-813.