Integrative Epidemiology of Cardiovascular diseases

Objectives & Topics
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Awards & Fundings
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Objectives & Topics

The main focus of our research is the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at the population level. More specifically, we are addressing the epidemiology of sudden cardiac death, the predictive value of novel biomarkers, the relevance of new preventative strategies such as primordial prevention, and the epidemiological transition towards non-communicable disease (NCDs) in Sub Saharan Africa throughout a research program on global health. We are coordinating large population-based study cohorts, registries and field studies. We are also strongly anchored in National, European and International research networks including from the global south. This is a 35-staff multidisciplinary team composed of epidemiologists, clinical researchers of different specialties, engineers, assistants permitting to address these different challenges. We are combining classical regression analyses with multidimensional analyses using sophisticated machine learning methods.

Our team is essentially funded by European and National academic grants such as the Horizon Europe, COST Action, National Research Agency (ANR), but also by non-profit organizations such as the Medical Research Foundation (FRM), French Society of Cardiology, French Foundation of Cardiology, Lefoulon Delalande Foundation.

Projects

1: To develop new approaches to prevent sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the population

We have established since May 2011 a population-based registry of SCD in the Paris area (Sudden Death Expertise Centre) (https://www.cems-paris.fr/) connecting firefighters, the mobile emergency teams and intensive care units. We therefore collect data in the pre-hospital, intra-hospital and after hospital discharge settings, giving an integrative view of the epidemiology and care of SCD. We have matched these data registry with the unstructured data from the National Health data Hub to develop an ambitious project using AI technics to develop and validate algorithms to stratify the risk of SCD in the general population.

2: To study the predictive value of novel biomarkers for CVD

We are currently developing an ambitious and risky project evaluating the predictive value of vascular aging biomarkers measured non-invasively by high-precision carotid echotracking in more than 10,000 participants from the Paris Prospective Study III (https://epp3.org/fr).

In addition to ‘classical’ vascular aging biomarkers, we have started a program on radiomics analyzing the raw signal from the carotid echotracking images. This program is developed in collaboration with researchers from team 3 (P Boutouyrie and RM Bruno). Thanks to its large biobank, we have several ongoing collaborations with PARCC teams on genetics and novel blood biomarkers for CVD.

3: Towards the implementation of primordial prevention

Primordial prevention is a new preventative strategy aiming to prevent the onset of risk factors in the first place to achieve an optimal cardiovascular health (CVH) and ultimately prevent the occurrence of CVD (and beyond). Over the last 10 years, we have conducted several works demonstrating that achieving an optimal CVH was related to substantial risk reduction of CVD in different settings. We have also shown that this benefit went far beyond CVD and concerned the risk of T2D, dementia, depression, cancer, and multimorbidity, permitting to envisage primordial prevention as an integrated preventive approach for multifactorial diseases. We are now moving from research to action and testing the implementation of primordial prevention in different settings and contexts (randomized interventions).

4: Re-thinking global health

The team is engaged both in field studies and in population-based studies, mostly in Sub Saharan Africa. In collaboration with researchers and clinicians from 20 different Sub-Saharian countries, the African Research Network (ARN, http://www.africa-research.net), under the impulsion of X Jouven (France) and B Diop (Senegal) is being conducting field works to address the burden and clinical management of NCDs such as CVD, T2D complications, thalassemia, rheumatic heart diseases, together with the important question of the quality of the medications for these NCDs. Throughout the European University GUILDE alliance, the team is engaged in the Euro Cluster Of Research and Excellence (EURO Core, https://www.the-guild.eu/africa-europe-core/) via a partnership between Université de Paris Cité and Université Cheick Anta Diop. In parallel, through the impulsion of JP Empana, A Nambiema and K Agboyibor, the team is being addressing the burden, time trends and determinants of cardio-metabolic and non-cardiometabolic diseases at the population level using Sub Saharan (SETPS) and worldwide (DHS) population-based studies. The team is also engaged in the European University Circle U alliance (https://www.circle-u.eu/) aiming to educate the next European generation on 4 main pillars including Global Health. JP Empana, representing Université Paris Cité, is coordinating the pillar on Global Health. With his/her co-chairs, they are developing international teaching activities (international summers school), building international research networks with academic and non-academic stakeholders, and spreading the importance of global health as a research topic towards different stakeholders worldwide. All these activities converged to the creation in 2025 of an institute of Global Health at Université Paris Cité (https://www.santeglobale.paris/). Led by X Jouven, this institute aims to structure global health activities within Université Paris Cité by engaging all the faculties of Université Paris Cité and its associated partners.

Members