Acceptance of Virtual Reality Among Adults with Rheumatologic Conditions.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide (), and atherosclerosis (AS) is a major contributor to its growing burden. Therefore, identifying populations at a high risk of AS is central to effective CVD prevention (). However, differences in genetic background, lifestyle, dietary patterns, and environmental exposure result in distinct distributions of atherosclerotic lesions and CVD risk across ethnic groups (). Consequently, it has been proposed that ethnic-specific reference values for markers such as carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) should be established to enable more precise CVD prevention (). Carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) is a widely used indicator of systemic AS risk. Although international studies have reported extensive data on ethnic differences (), research on the prevalence and metabolic characteristics of CAS across ethnic groups in China remains limited. Yunnan Province has the most diverse ethnic minority population in China, with 25 ethnic groups native to the region. This study aimed to characterize the CAS and metabolic profiles among populations at high risk for CVD from the Han, Yi, Dai, and Lisu ethnic groups using a unified sample collection and analysis protocol. The findings provide evidence for research on AS mechanisms, inform the development of reference standards and intervention strategies, and support efforts to reduce the regional burden of CVD. The 2024 Yunnan Province Screening and Intervention Project for High-Risk Populations of Cardiovascular Disease was conducted in five counties: Jinggu, Fumin, Yuanmou, Wuding, and Yongping. Among these, Jinggu, Yuanmou, and Wuding counties have large ethnic minority populations. The project provided free CVD screening to all permanent residents aged 45–75 years in these five counties, which were selected using cluster random sampling. A total of 201,851 residents were initially screened, of whom 28,480 (14.11%) were identified as high-risk, with within-group high-risk proportions of 14.12% (19,109/135,349) for Han, 13.18% (4,896/37,141) for Yi, 18.98% (2,233/11,765) for Dai, and 14.71% (864/5,874) for Lisu. All individuals from the project who did not meet any exclusion criteria and were from the Han, Yi, Dai, and Lisu ethnic groups were included in this study. The exclusion criteria were as follows: