Cardiovascular health in Brazilian state capitals 1.
Fernanda Penido Matozinhos, Mariana Santos Felisbino-Mendes, Crizian Saar Gomes and 5 others
PMID 29069270WHAT IT FOUND
Only 3.4% of adults in Brazilian capitals had all six cardiovascular health factors at ideal levels; diet was the weakest, with 23.6% adequate.
Key findings
01Only 3.4% of adults had all six cardiovascular health factors at ideal levels, and 19.7% had five or six factors at ideal levels.
02Diet was the least ideal factor, with 23.6% meeting the ideal diet criterion; physical activity was 35.2% and BMI was 48.6%.
03Women, younger adults, and people with more education had higher prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The analysed sample was 41,134 adults, fewer than the 45,448 interviewed because pregnant women and people with missing weight, height, or uncertain hypertension or diabetes status were excluded. All factors were self-reported, including hypertension and diabetes diagnosis, so true prevalence may be underestimated. Dyslipidemia was not included because it was not evaluated in the Vigitel questionnaire. The diet and physical activity questions were simplified compared with the American Heart Association measures, and physical activity may have been overestimated. The study analysed 2012 survey data, so it cannot show whether cardiovascular health changed over time.
Declared interests
The study was supported by Ministério da Saúde, Brazil, process #188.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the low prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health as evidence that education changes cardiovascular health. This was a self-report survey of 2012 data; it did not test any intervention, and hypertension and diabetes were based on reported diagnosis.