Risk factor distribution for cardiovascular diseases among high school boys and girls of urban Dibrugarh, Assam

INTRODUCTION: Chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in the world, and their incidence is rising rapidly due to increasing rates of risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity, and tobacco use. These risk factors track from childhood to adulthood, and their distribution varies among males and females; hence, there is a need to determine risk factor prevalence among adolescent age group so as to plan preventive strategies. OBJECTIVE: To determine the distribution of risk factors of CVDs amongst high school boys and girls of urban Dibrugarh, Assam. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2012 to June 2013 in the schools of urban Dibrugarh, Assam wherein data was collected from 1000 students of Class 8–10 using multistage random sampling and risk factors were assessed using WHO steps methodology. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 16 software and test of differences used were Chi-square test and t-test. Results: The prevalence of ever tobacco use was 32.3% among boys and 6.6% among girls (P < 0.001) while ever alcohol use was reported by 11.9% boys and 1% girls (P < 0.001). Prevalence of overweight and hypertension was found to be higher among girls (11.7% and 24.1%) as compared to boys (6.8% and 18.1%). Prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was higher among boys while high triglycerides levels were more prevalent among girls. CONCLUSION: The study revealed a high prevalence of various risk factors among boys and girls. There is a need to reduce the risk factor prevalence of CVD among this group of the population to address the future epidemic of NCD. Different health promotional activities need to be implemented to target boys and girls as the risk factor distribution among these groups is different.