Cardiovascular risk and cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives: to identify cardiovascular risk and cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents and verify correlations between these variables and biochemical markers, and between blood pressure percentiles, Body Mass Index, and biochemical markers. Methods: a cross-sectional study, conducted at a Brazilian school, from August to September 2019, including 205 participants who were interviewed. After the interview, anthropometric assessments, including weight, height, arm circumference, blood pressure checking, and blood collection for laboratory tests were performed. Descriptive and inferential analysis using the chi-square test was conducted. Results: a total of 18.5% had blood pressure percentiles >95%, 25.4% were overweight, and 25.9% were at very high cardiovascular risk. Statistically significant associations were found between cardiovascular risk and sex, Body Mass Index and blood pressure percentiles, and between blood pressure percentiles and triglycerides. Conclusions: high prevalence of risk factors among school adolescents reinforces the need for interventions for cardiovascular risk reduction in this population.