Cardiovascular risk factors in a population of Brazilian schoolchildren

Abstract

Epidemiological and clinical evidence suggests that a judicious diet, regular physical activity and blood pressure (BP) monitoring must start in early childhood to minimize the impact of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors. This study was designed to evaluate BP and metabolic parameters of schoolchildren from Vitória, Espírito Santo State, Brazil, and correlate them with cardiovascular risk factors. The study was conducted on 380 students aged 10-14 years (177 boys, 203 girls) enrolled in public schools. Baseline measurements included body mass index, BP and heart rate. The students were submitted to exercise spirometry on a treadmill. VO 2max was obtained from exercise testing to voluntary exhaustion. Fasting serum total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, HDL-C, triglycerides (TG), and glucose were measured. Nine point nine percent of the boys and 11.7% of the girls were hypertensive or had pre-hypertensive levels. There was no significant correlation between VO 2max and TC, LDL-C, or TG in prepubertal children, but a slight negative correlation was detected in post-pubertal boys for HDL-C and TG. In addition, children with hypertension (3.4%) or prehypertensive levels (6.6%) also had comorbidity for overweight and blood lipid abnormalities (14% for triglycerides, 44.7% for TC, 25.9% for LDL-C, 52% for low HDL-C). The present study shows for the first time high correlations between prehypertensive blood pressure levels and the cardiovascular risk factors high TC, high LDL-C, low HDL-C in schoolchildren. These are important for the formulation of public health policies and strategies.

Cardiovascular risk factors in pre-pubertal schoolchildren in Angola

“…Similar to other studies in pre-pubertal children162526 no significant difference was found between boys and girls regarding physical and clinical characteristics, indicating that such differences will appear later on during puberty. Our study was performed in pre-pubertal children only, to avoid the confounding influence of sex hormones and fat accumulation on blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors.…”

“…The prevalence of high blood pressure in our cohort was 14.6%(11.1% with pre-hypertension and 3.5% with hypertension), a figure similar to that found in other African countries such as Egypt,18 South Africa,24 the Seychelles26 and Sudan,28 as wellas non-African countries, including Spain,17 United States,1Canada,29 Argentina25 and Brazil 1627. A study in young adults(18 to 29 years) in Angola,30 however, showed a prevalenceof hypertension of 23%, suggesting a rapid increase in bloodpressure during adolescence and early adulthood…”

“…These figures are similar to studies in countries such as Egypt,18 the Seychelles,26 Sudan,28 Brazil16,27,36 and Switzerland,37 but differ from others studies, such as in South Africa, where children living in rural areas were studied 24. Urbanisation therefore seems to be an important factor facilitating the development of obesity in children.…”

“…The increased incidence of CVD risk factors is a growing reality in children and adolescents, according to studies in several countries 116182429. Few studies, however, have been carried out in African countries.…”

“…However, there is now strong evidence of an increased incidence of these conditions in the pre- and post-pubertal periods 1618. Most studies, however, have been conducted in developed countries with few studies performed in Africa to date 19…”