Multiple cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents from a middle-income country: Prevalence and associated factors

Abstract

Multiple cardiovascular risk factors are directly related to the severity of atherosclerosis, even in children and adolescents. In this context accurate assessment of risk factors at the individual level play a decisive role in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, the frequency of their coexistence in individuals, and identify possible determinants associated with this coexistence in Brazilian adolescents. A cross-sectional study with 1170 students (12–17 years) from public and private schools of a large city was conducted. In addition to family history, modifiable cardiovascular risk factors were assessed including: tobacco use, alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, overweight/obesity, increased waist circumference, and high blood pressure (office and home). We built a linear regression model to identify determinants associated with increasing number of modifiable risk factors. Mean study population age was 14.7±1.6 years, 67% were enrolled in public schools and 33% in private ones. The majority of the adolescents had at least two risk factors (68.9%), more than 10% had more than 4 risk factors, and in only 6.7% of the sample no risk factor was identified. Family history of CVD (β-coefficient = 1.20; 95%CI 1.07–1.34; p<0.001), increasing age (β-coefficient = 0.08; 95%CI 0.04–0.11; p<0.001), and being enrolled in private schools (β-coefficient = 0.16; 95%CI 0.02–0.30; p = 0.023) were directly associated with the modifiable CV risk factors. In conclusion, the prevalence of multiple cardiovascular risk factors was high in the population of adolescents studied. School based interventions should be addressed to change this scenario.

Contributions of Anthropometrics and Lifestyle to Blood Pressure in Japanese University Students : Investigation by Annual Health Screening

“…One of the reasons for smoking is also the weight reduction, and smoking and drinking are interdependent in the university lifestyle. Since modifiable lifestyle components are clustering in adolescents, interdependency should be investigated in the longitudinal or multivariate study (26). Because obesity is associated with systemic vascular and cardiac damage (27)(28)(29)(30), lifestyle modification is important for the unhealthy university students.…”

Coexistence of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among Brazilian adolescents: Individual characteristics and school environment

“…They found that 83% of adolescents accumulated two, or more, non-communicable diseases (NCD)-risk factors. Jardim et al (2018) [32] have analyzed 1,170 students from the Brazilian Midwestern region and found that most of them presented at least two risk factors (68.9%) and that more than 10% of them presented more than four risk factors for NCD. According to Nunes et al (2016) [33], 9 out of 10 adolescents from Southern Brazil presented two, or more, risk factors for NCD.…”

Prevalência De Hipertensão Arterial, Pré-Hipertensão E Fatores Associados Em Crianças E Adolescentes De Escolas Municipais De Cuiabá, Mato Grosso

“…Em adolescentes de 10 a 12 anos, prevalência mais elevada de HA entre meninas (11,76% vs 4,76%), está de acordo com estudos brasileiros, que mostraram frequências mais altas nas meninas 22,25 e em desacordo com estudos que mostraram prevalências mais altas nos meninos [26][27][28][29] . Portanto, as meninas apresentaram maiores prevalências de HA independente da faixa etária.…”