China has witnessed a rising incidence of stroke and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in recent decades. The China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) is a prospective study of 0.5M adults, who were enrolled in 2004 – 2008, that has accrued about 50,000 cases of each of stroke and IHD over the last 10 years.

Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and adiposity account for much of the excess risks of cardiovascular disease worldwide. This seminar will review some recent evidence on importance of these risk factors for risk of premature deaths in Chinese adults.

Robert Clarke is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford. He qualified in Medicine in Ireland and trained in Internal Medicine and Cardiology before specialising in Public Health Medicine.