PREVALENCE OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN RURAL POPULATION OF NELLORE DISTRICT

Estimation of prevalence of risk factors of cardiovascular disease is important to design preventive programmes. This cross-sectional study was carried out in a port area population to assess the prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The study included 500 participants (males/females-120/380). The blood pressure serum cholesterol and random blood glucose were assessed. Information on smoking, alcohol intake, dietary habits and physical activity was collected using pretested questionnaire. The overall prevalence of prehypertension, hypertension, diabetes, prediabetes and hypercholestremia were 24%, 22.4%, 5.8%, 5.2% and 20.8% respectively. Most of the personnel undertook moderate or heavy exercise. A higher proportion of individuals with prehypertension had clinical and behavioral risk factors such as hyperglycemia, hypercholesterol and adverse dietary practices like saturated fat and added salt intake. The prevalence of prehypertension and its association with hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia in this moderately physically active population indicates an urgent need for targeted interventions to reduce the cardiovascular risk.