Explaining Population Trends in Cardiovascular Risk: South Africa and England, 1998-2017

The project, based at the University of Greenwich, UK and Stellenbosch University, South Africa, aimed to examine epidemiologic transitions by identifying and quantifying the drivers of change in CVD risk in the middle-income country of South Africa compared to the high-income nation of England. The project produced a harmonised dataset of national surveys measuring CVD risk factors in South Africa and England for others to use in future work. The harmonised dataset includes microdata from nationally-representative surveys in South Africa derived from the Demographic and Health Surveys, National Income Dynamics Study, South Africa National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health, covering 11 cross-sections and approximately 156,000 individuals aged 15+ years, representing South Africa’s adult population from 1998 to 2017.

Data for England come from 17 Health Surveys for England (HSE) over the same time period, covering over 168,000 individuals aged 16+ years, representing England’s adult population.