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Biomédica

Print version ISSN 0120-4157

Abstract

BRICENO, Germán; CESPEDES, Jaime; LEAL, Martha  and  VARGAS, Sarha. Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in schoolchildren from a rural and urban area in Colombia. Biomédica [online]. 2018, vol.38, n.4, pp.545-554. ISSN 0120-4157.  https://doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.v38i4.4223.

Introduction:

Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) have their origin in childhood. Several studies have shown differences in the prevalence of CVRFs between rural and urban areas, probably related to lifestyle behaviors.

Objective:

To describe the CVRFs identified in children from a rural and urban population in Colombia.

Materials and methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted between March and June 2013 in schoolchildren from an urban and a rural area in Colombia. Weight, height, blood pressure, triglycerides, fasting glucose, and total cholesterol were measured, and a survey covering nutrition, physical activity, and passive smoking was applied. The prevalence of CVRFs was calculated with a 95% CI.

Results:

A total of 1,055 schoolchildren (833 urban, 222 rural) participated; their mean age was 6.71 years. The prevalence of CVRFs in the rural and the urban study population, respectively, was 68.69%/90.16% for sedentary lifestyle, 97.18%/95.44% for unhealthy diet, 11.16%/14.52% for passive smoking, 0%/5.64% for obesity, 6.31%/11.28% for hypertension, 0%/0% for diabetes, and 18.28%/16.31% for total cholesterol. A total of 99.15% of the study population had at least one CVRF, with an average of 3.14 for the urban area (SD:1.12), and of 2.76 for the rural one (SD: 1.1). Overweight children had a higher prevalence of hypertension (15.21%; 95% CI:11.04%-20.59%) and sedentary lifestyle (90.69%), compared to those without this risk factor (8.98% and 84.32%, respectively).

Conclusions:

Our results showed a high prevalence of CVRFs in children, especially in the urban area. Public health strategies adapted to the rural and urban populations should be implemented.

Keywords : Cardiovascular diseases; risk factors; public health; child; rural population; urban population.

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