Evaluation of public health nurse-led health counseling programs for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in Amagasaki City, Japan.

Abstract

We evaluated whether Amagasaki health counseling programs led by public health nurses (PHNs) are contribute to improving cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and CVD mortality among adult residents. This cross-sectional study used a before-and-after comparative design. We evaluated data from health checkups and mortality before and after Amagasaki health promotion programs. Population levels of CVD risk factors body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, Triglyceride, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), uric acid, γ-glut amyl trans peptidase (γ-GTP), serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were compared between 2008 and 2012 when the intervention with the Amagasaki health counseling program started from 2008. In addition, standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were compared between 2003-2007 and 2008-2012. Mean value of most CVD risk factors improved and the SMR for AMI declined, which could be attributable in part to the effort of intensive health education and counseling.