Divergent fifteen-year trends in traditional and cardiometabolic risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in the Seychelles.

Objective: Few studies have assessed secular changes in the levels of cardiovascular risk factors (CV-RF) in populations of low or middle income countries. The systematic collection of a broad set of both traditional and metabolic CV-RF in 1989 and 2004 in the population of the Seychelles islands provides a unique opportunity to examine trends at a fairly early stage of the "diabesity" era in a country in the African region.

Methods: Two examination surveys were conducted in independent random samples of the population aged 25-64 years in 1989 and 2004, attended by respectively 1081 and 1255 participants (participation rates >80%).