There is uncertainty whether current strategies for providing CVD risk scores  affect CVD events .
Providing CVD risk scores may slightly reduce CVD risk factor levels and may increase preventive medication prescribing in higher-risk people without evidence of harm .
BACKGROUND The current paradigm for cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) emphasises absolute risk assessment to guide treatment decisions in primary prevention .
Although the derivation and validation of multivariable risk assessment tools , or CVD risk scores , have attracted considerable attention , their effect on clinical outcomes is uncertain .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of evaluating and providing CVD risk scores in adults without prevalent CVD on cardiovascular outcomes , risk factor levels , preventive medication prescribing , and health behaviours .
The long-term effect of screening and lifestyle counseling on changes in physical activity and diet: the Inter99 Study – a randomized controlled trial
Background Multi-factorial intervention studies have been found to be successful in the initiation of lifestyle changes . However , little is known about the longer-term maintenance of health behavior improvements . The purpose of this study was to investigate whether improvements in physical activity and dietary habits achieved in a population -based multi-factorial lifestyle intervention of five years duration were maintained five years after intervention activities have ended . Methods The study was a population -based r and omized controlled trial , Inter99 ( 1999–2006 ) , Copenhagen , Denmark . Over five years , all participants in the intervention group ( n = 6,091 ) received individual lifestyle counseling ;  participants at high risk of ischemic heart disease – according to pre-specified criteria – were also offered group-based counseling . The  control group ( n = 3,324 ) was followed by question naires . Both groups were followed one , three , five , and ten years after baseline . Changes in physical activity and dietary habits ( intake of vegetables , fruit , fish , and saturated fat ) during and after the intervention were investigated using r and om-coefficient models . Results Five years after the intervention , women in the intervention group reported greater improvements in the intake of fruit ( MΔ = 90.2 g/week , p = 0.041 ) and less intake of saturated fat ( OR = 0.30 , 95 % CI : 0.17–0.54 ) than the control group . Men in the intervention group reported greater improvements in physical activity ( MΔ = 19.6 min/week , p = 0.003 ) and less intake of saturated fat ( OR = 0.31 , 95 % CI : 0.17–0.56 ) than the control group . Improvements in the intake of vegetables and fish achieved during the intervention were not maintained in the longer-term . Conclusions Screening and lifestyle counseling had sustained effects on physical activity and dietary habits five years after its discontinuation . The patterns of long-term changes in lifestyle differed across behaviors and between men and women . Trial registration Clinical Trials.gov ( NCT00289237
There is uncertainty whether current strategies for providing CVD risk scores  affect CVD events .
Providing CVD risk scores may slightly reduce CVD risk factor levels and may increase preventive medication prescribing in higher-risk people without evidence of harm .
BACKGROUND The current paradigm for cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) emphasises absolute risk assessment to guide treatment decisions in primary prevention .
Although the derivation and validation of multivariable risk assessment tools , or CVD risk scores , have attracted considerable attention , their effect on clinical outcomes is uncertain .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of evaluating and providing CVD risk scores in adults without prevalent CVD on cardiovascular outcomes , risk factor levels , preventive medication prescribing , and health behaviours .