Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in school children of a rural and urban area from Colombia

Introduction: Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF), have their origin in childhood. There are studies that show differences in the prevalence of CVRF in rural and urban areas, probably related to lifestyle behaviors. Objective: The present study describes the CVRF identified in children from a rural population and an urban population in Colombia. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between March and June of 2013 in school children of an urban and rural area from Colombia. Measurements of weight, height, blood pressure, triglycerides, fasting glucose and total cholesterol were made, and a survey on physical nutrition and passive smoking was applied. Prevalence, 95% CI of CVRF were calculated. Results: 1055 schoolchildren, 833 (urban), 222 (rural), mean age of 6.71 years. The prevalence of CVRF in rural/urban study population was for sedentary lifestyle 68.69% / 90.16%, unhealthy diet 97.18% / 95.44%, passive smoking 11.16% / 14.52%, obesity 0% / 5.64%, hypertension 6.31% / 11.28%, diabetes 0%/0%, total cholesterol >= 200 mg/dI 18.28% / 16.31%. The 99.15% of the study population had at least one CVRF, with an urban average of 3.14 (SD:1.12), and in the rural population of 2.76 (SD: 1.1). Children with overweight had a higher prevalence of hypertension, 15.21% (95% CI, 11.04%-20.59%), and sedentary lifestyle, 90.69%, compared to those without the risk factor, 8,98 % and 84,32% respectively. Conclusions: Our results show a high prevalence of children CVRF, being higher in the urban area. It is necessary to implement public health strategies adapted to the rural and urban population.