ABSTRACT
Coronary artery disease [CAD] risk factors are increasing in developing countries. Previous studies have shown a high prevalence of CAD risk factors in Iran but geographical prevalence is not uniform. We performed this study to determine the prevalence of these risk factors in Yazd province, central Iran. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 2000 participants, 1000 men and 1000 women among Yazd citizens, were surveyed and data was recorded in a 500- item questionnaire. About 85% of Yazd citizens had at least one and 61.1% had at least two coronary artery disease risk factors. The present study showed that 16.38% of Yazd citizens were obese [9.2% in men and 24.2% in women], and 43.3% of men an d62.05% of women had excess weight. Prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was 12.1% [10.6 in men and 13.8% in women, respectively], dyslipidemia 58.5% [59% and 57.6%, respectively], high blood pressure [HTN] 25.6% [27.5% and 23.5%, respectively], diabetes mellitus [DM] 11% [10.48% and 11.5%, respectively], impaired glucose tolerance 8.5% [7.9 and 9.1%, respectively] and cigarette smoking 13.12% [24.45% and 0.55, respectively]. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, dyslipidemia, DM, HTN, and abdominal obesity increased significantly with age [p<0.005]. The prevalence of obesity, abdominal obesity, hypercholesterolemia and DM was significantly higher in women. Excess weight, dyslipidemia and HTN were the most prevalent risk factors in Yazd. Although Yazd did not have the highest levels of risk factors in Iran, but the findings showed that Yazd is one of the "at risk" cities with regard to prevalence of risk factors. Preventive and therapeutic programs should thus be considered as a major health priority in Yazd