Lifestyle and Cardiovascular Risk in University Staff

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and lifestyle is one of the main factors for its development. Objective: To analyze the lifestyle profile of employees of a public university and relate it to the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Method: Cross-sectional study carried out with 31 servers from a public university in the interior of Maranhão. An instrument for sociodemographic assessment and a validated instrument for the assessment of individual lifestyle were used. Descriptive data analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel (2011 version). The research met the ethical aspects, obtaining a positive opinion from an Ethics and Research Committee. Results: The participants were mostly female (74%), aged 35 years and with a family income of three minimum wages (45.1%). It was evidenced that few have a healthy diet (48.38%) and perform physical activity (35%). A positive finding was that participants seek to control blood pressure and cholesterol (55%). In stress management, only 42% set aside 5 minutes to relax. Conclusion: It is noted the presence of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in the lifestyle of the participants, requiring an intervention to prevent risks.