OBJECTIVEThis research project aimed to evaluate whether a simplified method for identifying high-risk individuals for cardiovascular diseases proposed by the China Rural Health Initiative (CRHI) was feasible in the rural areas in China.

METHODS2 036 adults, aged 20 years or older were stratified-randomly sampled from 12 villages in Luquan county and Anguo county (Hebei province) respectively, to receive physical examination and filling in administered questionnaires. "Gold Standard" was used on high risk in Chinese Guidelines on Prevention and Treatment of Dyslipidemia in Adults to evaluate the CRHI standards:people with a history of coronary heart disease or stroke, or elderly as men ≥50 years or women ≥60 years with diabetes, or elderly with systolic blood pressure ≥160 mmHg. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values related to the identification of high-risk individuals for cardiovascular diseases were assessed.

RESULTSThe concordance rate between the CRHI standard and the gold standard was 92.9% , with sensitivity as 77.2%, specificity as 98.5%, Youden's Index as 0.76, positive predictive value as 94.7% and negative predictive value as 92.5%. Under CRHI standard, 21.3% of the adults were identified as high risk. The rate was increasing with age (P < 0.001), reaching 44% among those who were over 60 years old.

CONCLUSIONThe CRHI standard seemed simple and easy and was suitable for identifying high-risk individuals for cardiovascular diseases in the resource-constrained rural areas.