Anthropometric risk factors of cardiovascular disease in adult population of Dharan Municipality, Eastern Nepal: Gender and age differences

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) besides cancer are the most serious threat to the health and life of the population of both developed and developing countries. The aim of the study was to know the gender and age differences with anthropometric CVD risk factors among Nepalese adults of Dharan Municipality. Materials and Methods: A population based cross-sectional study was conducted using a pretested self-administered structured questionnaire on anthropometric parameters which can affect CVD. A systematic random sampling technique was applied to cover the estimated 280 households with 900 adult population. The parameters of anthropometric risk factors for cardiovascular diseases were Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Hip Ratio (WHR) and Body Fat Percentage (BFP). The result was expressed as mean ± SD. Independent student t test and ANOVA were applied to find out the gender and age differences respectively. “P” value of < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: The mean and SD of BMI, WHR and BFP were found to be 24.17±4.13, 1.01±2.83 and 26.91±7.15 respectively. The gender differences of BFP were found to be statistically significant, whereas for BMI and WHR were not significant (p>0.05). The age differences in BMI and BFP were statistically significant (<0.05) whereas for WHR was not found to be significant (p>0.05). The signiicant positive correlations were found among these parameters (p< 0.01). Conclusion:The results of this study emphasize the need for a comprehensive study (both lipid and anthropometric) for providing baseline data to prevent CVD in eastern Nepal.