Objective:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a major cause of mortality and morbidity in Poland. Data on risk factors of CVD in this country are limited. The presented study investigated risk factors of self-reported CVD within the Polish-Norwegian Study (PONS).

Material and Methods:
PONS is an ongoing prospective study in Poland. The data used was provided by 3,853 participants, aged 45-64, during baseline interviews.

Results:
Prevalence of chronic diseases among participants was as follows: hypertension, 38.4%; diabetes, 5.9%; and CVD, 11.0%. There was no association between CVD and gender and place of residence. CVD was associated with ever-smoking (OR= 1.25; 95% CI: 1.00-1.55), whereas there was an inverse association with alcohol drinking in the year preceding enrolment in the study (OR= 0.50; 95% CI: 0.39-0.63). CVD was associated with body mass index (BMI), as well as with measures of abdominal adiposity, in the following order: waist to height ratio>waist circumference>waist to hip ratio; however, none of these measures showed a stronger association with CVD than BMI. Both hypertension (OR= 1.33; 95% CI: 1.05-1.68) and diabetes (OR= 1.33; 95% CI: 1.05-1.68) were associated with CVD in adjusted models.

Conclusions:
This study shows the association between several risk factors and prevalence of self-reported CVD and provides information about distribution of those factors among an adult population in Poland. The results of the ongoing PONS study in a prospective setting will provide more accurate risk estimates for the observed associations, as well as risk estimates for other risk factors of CVD, including dietary factors, and attributable risks for various factors.