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Article History

Received: 3 December 2025

Accepted: 25 March 2026

First Online: 7 April 2026

Declarations

:

: Ethical approval has been obtained from the Ethics Review Committee of Aga Khan University (ERC number 2024–9680-29143). Any protocol amendments, if required, will be reported to the respective Ethics Committee and in subsequent publications. Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants. Participation will be voluntary, and participants can withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. Anonymity and confidentiality will be ensured by not revealing the identity of respondents at any stage of the study. Anonymity will be maintained by using codes instead of participants’ names as identifiers. Participants with values outside the normal range for CVD risk factors will be contacted and advised to consult a medical doctor. The costs of biochemical measurements will be borne by the research project.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.ZS has received funding from the FIC of the NIH (5D43TW011625 and U54TW012089), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (INV-021944 and INV-050389), the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and the Wellcome Trust. Additionally, she previously served as an advisor on the Heart Failure Publication Committee by Cytokinetics.SV has received research funding from the NIH, NIHR UK, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Tahir and Jooma Family, Asharia Family.AA has received funding from the FIC of the NIH (5D43TW011625).