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Cardiovascular health in Brazilian state capitals 1
Fernanda Penido Matozinhos1, Mariana Santos Felisbino-Mendes1, Crizian Saar Gomes2
1PhD, Adjunct Professor, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Insights
Only 3.4% of Brazilians have ideal cardiovascular health, with women showing higher rates than men. This low prevalence highlights significant risks for cardiovascular disease mortality in the country.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Cardiovascular Health
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a major cause of mortality in Brazil.
- Understanding the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health indicators is crucial for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health indicators in the Brazilian population.
- To analyze these prevalence rates by gender, age, education, and region of residence.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study utilizing data from 41,134 participants of the Vigitel survey.
- Ideal cardiovascular health assessed using six factors: non-smoking, healthy BMI (<25 kg/m²), physical activity, high fruit/vegetable intake, no diabetes, and no hypertension.
Main Results:
- Only 3.4% of the population achieved ideal cardiovascular health (score of 6).
- The majority (57.6%) had 3 or 4 ideal factors.
- Women exhibited a higher prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health (3.8%) compared to men (2.9%).
Conclusions:
- The low prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health aligns with high CVD mortality rates in Brazil.
- Findings contribute to understanding the cardiovascular health status of Brazil's urban population.
- Results underscore the need for targeted public health strategies to improve cardiovascular health indicators.
Objective:
to estimate the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health indicators in the Brazilian population, according to gender, age, education and region of residence.
Method:
cross-sectional study that used data from 41,134 participants of the Surveillance System of Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (Vigitel). The ideal cardiovascular health assessment considers four behavioral factors: not smoking; body mass index less than 25 kg/m2; practicing physical activity, eating fruits and vegetables five or more times per day; and two clinical factors (no diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension). The sum of factors at ideal levels results in a score ranging from zero (worse cardiovascular health) to six (ideal cardiovascular health).
Results:
considering the six factors, only 3.4% of the studied population presented ideal levels of cardiovascular health, with the majority of participants (57.6%) presenting three or four ideal factors. Women had higher prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health (3.8% versus 2.9% for men) (p < 0.0001).
Conclusion:
the findings of this study are consistent with the elevated risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, observed in the Brazilian population. This may contribute to a better understanding of the scenario of cardiovascular health in the urban population of the country.
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