Favorable life-style modification and attenuation of cardiovascular risk factors

In order to develop an effective counseling system for prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the association of a favorably changed life-style with improved risk factors was examined. Participants were 7,321 office workers aged 30-69 years from in and around Nagoya city. The age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the likelihood of risk factor improvement by favorable life-style modifications during a 3-year period. Those who began to eat breakfast and increased their vegetable intake normalized their previously abnormal diastolic blood pressure with more than twice the likelihood (adjusted OR [95% CI] 2.89 [1.29-6.46] and 2.60 [1.18-5.75], respectively). 'Began to eat breakfast' was also significantly associated with normalized total cholesterol (TC) (1.84, [1.05-3.21]). 'Stopped eating till full' significantly normalized the body mass index (2.03; [1.25-3.28]), uric acid (1.65; [1.07-2.52]) and TC (1.43; [1.04-1.97]). Those who started regular exercise significantly normalized their high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) abnormality with 1.69-times the likelihood (1.69; [1.24-2.29]) and those who began to walk briskly also improved their TC abnormality (1.85; [1.19-2.89]). HDL-C was normalized with 2.55-times the likelihood in those who quit smoking (2.55; [1.68-3.86]). Because favorable life-style modifications can attenuate abnormal cardiovascular risk factors, then proper advice on specific risk factors should be routinely given at each health check-up in order to prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases in subsequent years.