Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Factores de riesgo cardiovascular en estudiantes universitarios chilenos

1999; Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública; Volume: 41; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s0036-36341999000600003

1606-7916

María Teresa Chiang-Salgado, Víctor Casanueva-Escobar, Ximena Cid-Cea, Urcesino González-Rubilar, Paola Olate-Mellado, Fabiola Nickel-Paredes, Leandro Revello-Chiang,

Cardiac Health and Mental Health

To study the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in asymptomatic university students of both sexes, aged 18 to 25 years.Serum lipid levels were measured in a subsample of 293 subjects, using a Hitachi 717 chemical analyzer. Obesity was classified using body mass index (BMI) measurements. A self-applied questionnaire was used to collect data on sedentary life style, family history of cardiovascular disease and cigarette smoking. Statistical associations of lipid levels with lipidic and non-lipidic risk factors were assessed using Pearson's chi-square test and multiple regression.We found lipid risk levels in 29.2% for total cholesterol (CT), 16.2% for low-density lipoproteins (C-LDL) and 5% for high-density lipoproteins (C-HDL). The main non-lipidic factors were smoking (46.1%) and sedentarism (60.8%). Obesity, hypertension and parental history of myocardial infarction were present in 1.9%, 4.6% and 11%, respectively. We observed an association of a lipid risk profile with obesity, cigarette smoking and family history.The results show that sedentarism and smoking are associated with a lipid risk profile. These results call for the need to develop appropriate behavior strategies for the successful prevention of cardiovascular disease.