Advancing Age and Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease in Women: A Retrospective Study of the Population of Holalu Village, Karnataka

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major health issues & more than one in three female adults have some form of CVDs. To determine the proportion of raised blood sugar, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, raised level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) & decreased level of high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) cholesterol in the study population. To assess and compare the proportion of biochemical risk factors of CVDs among participants aged < 40 years and > 40 years.

It is a retrospective study; the data generated from the Community Out-reach Program (COP) conducted at Holalu village was analyzed. The data includes demographic profile, history and biochemical investigations like fasting blood sugar (FBS), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), HDL-C & LDL-C.

Out of 448 participants (219-males and 229-females), 20.76% had raised blood sugar, 62.95% had hypercholesterolemia, 65.40% had hypertriglyceridemia, 57.81% had hyper LDL cholestrolemia and 1.12% had low HDL cholestrolemia. Females aged >40 years were found to have significantly high levels of (p<0.05) TC & LDL-C as compared to males aged >40 years as well as females aged <40 years. FBS was significantly high (p<0.05) in participants aged >40years as compared to < 40 years in both genders.

CVDs have been a significant public health problem not only in urban areas but also in rural areas. There is increased risk factor of CVDs in females aged > 40 years as compared to males and also females of age < 40 years. Health education is needed to prevent the complications of CVDs.