Prevalence of obesity, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia and their associated factors in children and adolescents in a municipality in the Brazilian Amazon region

Abstract

The prevalence of CND are rocketting over the world, including in young adults. The WHO estimates that more than half of the deaths in the world are caused by CND. The authors carried out a cross-sectional study of 1,431 school children in the Brazilian Western Amazon, with children and young people aged 6 to 16 years. A random sampling of 496 individuals was carried out. The OpenEpi platform was used to calculate the sample size, considering p<0.05 and a presumed prevalence of CND of 50%. The authors applyied a clinical-epidemiological questionnaire, made anthropometric measurements and laboratory tests. The authors used the diagnostic parameters recommended by the most recent guidelines of the Ministry of Health in Brazil The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of obesity, high blood pressure (HBP) and dyslipidemia and its risk factors. Prevalence of CND was: Obesity 11.8%, HBP of 6.7% and Dyslipidemia of 25.4%. After multivariate log-binomial analysis of the dependent variables, the statistically significant risk factors were: overweight 18.4%, sedentarism 32.2%, familial history of cardiovascular disease 23.4%, familial history of HBP 84.2%, familila dyslipidemia 55.8%, familial obesity 38.7% and familial chronic renal disease 40.6%. The findings point to a picture with a relatively high prevalence of CNDs, as well as their risk factors. Intervention measures such as health education, food education, stimulation of physical exercise, and better school feeding are needed to mitigate the occurence of CND. It also points for the weakness of the local public health system, wehre specific health programmes already exist.