Clustering of risk factors for cardiovascular disease among women in Southern Brazil: a population-based study

• Autor(a) principal: Fuchs,Sandra Costa
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Moreira,Leila Beltrami, Camey,Susi Alves, Moreira,Marina Beltrami, Fuchs,Flávio Danni
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Cadernos de Saúde Pública
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2008001400013
• topic: Nutritional Epidemiology; Cardiovascular Diseases; Women's Health

The association between clustering of risk factors and self-reported cardiovascular disease among women was investigated in a cross-sectional study using a multistage population-based sample. Participants were interviewed at home about diabetes mellitus, physical activity, and diet pattern. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure > 140/90mmHg or use of anti-hypertensive medication. Cardiovascular disease included self-reported myocardial infarction, heart failure, coronary artery bypass surgery, and stroke. A sample of 1,007 women from Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, mostly white (73%), 44.8 ± 0.8 years old, and with 9.3 ± 0.3 years of schooling was investigated. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, low fruit and vegetable intake, and lack of vigorous or moderate physical activity were clustered into a combination of risk factors, which were independently associated with self-reported cardiovascular disease. The main cluster included hypertension and diabetes, accounting for an independent risk ratio of 8.5 (95%CI: 3.0-24.5). Clustering of cardiovascular risk factors is strongly associated with self-reported cardiovascular disease among women.