Prevalence of Elevated Heart Rate Among the Philippine Lifecare Cohort (LIFT-LIFECARE Study)

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to describe the resting heart rate of the LIFECARE Philippine Cohort and its relation to socio-demographic factors and traditional cardiovascular risk factors. METHODOLOGY: A total of 3,072 apparently healthy participants aged 20-50 years old from four Philippine provinces were included in the study. Resting heart rate, anthropometric data and sociodemographic profiles were taken through interviews and standardized measurement techniques. The median heart rate was computed by sex, and the participants were divided into those with below-median heart rate and those with at-median/above-median heart rate. The correlation between heart rate and sociodemographic factors and traditional cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean heart rate was 75.68 beats per minute (bpm). Females have higher mean heart rate (79.20 bpm) compared to males (71.08 bpm). The median heart rate was 70.33 bpm for males and 78.0 bpm for females.For both sexes, unemployment was significantly associated with elevated heart rates. For males, factors such as living in urban areas and higher education were significantly associated with elevated heart rates. Increasing age and financial stress showed no statistically significant association. There was a trend towards increased heart rates with the presence of stressful events in the last 12 months. For females, living in rural areas, unemployment and younger age groups were significantly associated with elevated heart rates. Higher financial stress was inversely correlated with heart rate. Education and presence of stressful events in the last 12 months did not show statistical significance. For both genders, hypertension, diabetes and metabolic syndrome were significantly associated with elevated heart rates. Increased body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with higher heart rates for males. Although not statistically significant, there was a trend for higher heart rates for women with lower BMI. There was also a trend towards lower heart rates for participants of both sexes who exercised. Smoking history was significantly associated with lower heart rates in both sexes. CONCLUSION: Elevated heart rate was consistently seen in both sexes with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. However, sociodemographic factors seem to influence heart rate differently between males and females. KEYWORDS: heart rate, risk factors, socio-demographic risk factors, LIFECARE, Philippines.