Cardiovascular health education of families: the importance of school-based prevention strategies

Many people do not have sufficient knowledge about cardiovascular risk factors in Iran. We used a school-based educational intervention program to promote the health knowledge in all participating families. A total of 1100 fifth-grade school children and their parents were invited; 603 families were included in the study. The children attended a single session and were supplied with family information packages. Pre- and post-test questionnaires were completed by these families before and after the session. There was a significant increase in the overall cardiovascular risk factor knowledge of families [P<0.001]. The parents of boys achieved a greater level of health knowledge in comparison to the parents of girls [P<0.005]. This school-based educational intervention was effective in improving cardiovascular risk factor knowledge of families. Similar programs with more comprehensive methodology could be more effective in promoting healthy behaviors

Homocysteine levels and its correlation to metabolic syndrome in 25-64 years old residents of the Tehran medical university population lab

Homocysteine is regarded as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. It is of great importance to determine exact risk factors of these disorders because of their high prevalence. The 25-64 year old individuals in 17th district of Tehran were studied. It was designed according to the WHO MONICA [Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease] project using the ATP III criteria. Homocysteine levels higher than 15 mmol/l and Folate and vitamin B12 lower than 11 nmol/l and 185 pmol/l, respectively were considered as abnormal. Of the whole population, prevalence of abnormal homocysteine, Folic acid and vitamin B12 was 54.5%, 98.2% and 27%, respectively. Homocysteine levels were higher in men than women [P= 0.026]. None of the differences between the means of these three risk factors were statistically significant in people with and without the metabolic syndrome. The only significant difference was higher homocysteine levels in women with metabolic syndrome [P= 0.010]. According to this study, hyperhomocysteinemia and Folate and vitamin B12 deficiency are more prevalent in our population. But there was no correlation between these factors and risk of metabolic syndrome. Because of the controversy about this issue and high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in our country, further studies are suggested

[Cardiovascular screening of children and parents in high-risk families]

Background: cardiovascular disease is one of the major leading cause of death in Iran. There is a strong association between parental history of cardiovascular disease clustering of risk factors in the offspring. Detection and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors since childhood is essential to reduce the incidence of disease in adulthood. This study was performed to identify major cardiovascular risk factors in middle school-aged children and their parents in high risk compared to control families

Methods: the middle schools of the 6th of Tehran were divided randomly into two groups. A total of 169 high-risk children with their families were recruited from the first group while 105 control children with their families were recruited from the second group of schools. Coronary risk factor survey was performed in the participants

Results: prevalence of increased total- and LDL-cholesterol and high FBS were higher in high-risk parents and children. Prevalence of increased BMI was higher in fathers and children of high-risk families. More fathers in high-risk families were smoker. The means of waist circumference and WHR were significantly higher in high-risk fathers. The means of total- and LDL- cholesterol were significantly higher both in parents and children of high-risk group. The means of FBS were significantly higher in fathers and offspring of high-risk families

Conclusion: cardiovascular risk factors are more prevalent and clustered in high-risk families. Screening of these families is essential to prevent progression of cardiovascular disease since childhood and reduce its burden in adulthood

[Obesity and associated cardiovascular risk factors in Iranian children]

Background: obesity is a serious public health problem in developing countries due to its association with the cardiovascular risk factors. Childhood obesity is responsible for a number of different complications both during childhood and adulthood. The aim of the present study was to determine the cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese Iranian children

Methods: we screened 13086 children aged 7-12 years by measuring waist circumference. Those with a waist circumference 261 cm were selected for further evaluation. Antjfropometric measurements were'done and blood samples were taken from 563 enrolled ovenveightlobese children [284 boys and 279 girls]. We determined cardiovascular risk factors [including fasting total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, triglycerides, blood pressure]. In addition we measured the fasting blood .sugar, insulin, apo-A , apo-B and leptin levels

Results: only 2.7% of overweight or obese children had no risk factors. While, 20.6% had one and 70.85% had two or more risk factors. The prevalence of high total Cholestrol levels was 42.6%. HDLC showed an acceptable level in 92.4%of children .There were strong correlations between BMI and serum apoB and leptin levels [p<0.005]

Conclusion: the high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese Iranian children emphasizes the need for prevention and control of childhood obesity from early childhood in our country