Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular conditions remain the single leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The majority of all premature NCD deaths, however, tend to occur in low- and middle income countries. While the traditional cardiovascular risk factors remain relevant to these settings, the significant high risk observed in these non-Western populations may further be explained by local, but yet-to-be-characterized, unique risk factors. It is, therefore, essential to investigate how individual and joint roles of local environmental, biological, and genetic factors might influence the NCDs in non-Western populations.
