The Scottish Heart and Arterial Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey of cardiovascular risk: regional differences.

The objective was to explore variation in cardiovascular risk profiles within the Scottish workforce over different regions of Scotland by a planned review of survey data of workplaces throughout Scotland, surveyed between December 1991 and March 1996. The subjects sampled were 19,400 men and women aged between 18 and 70, who were in work and apparently healthy at the time of screening. The results showed that the regions of Scotland may be distinguished through particular risk factors and also by using a single summary score (the SHARP risk score). Overall the Perth and Kinross region tops the league for cardiovascular risk (with the main contributing factors being smoking and high blood pressure); regions of least risk are Inverness-shire and Edinburgh. There are statistically significant differences to be discerned in the regional distribution of cardiovascular risk within the working population of Scotland.