Prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in employees of the Research Center at Petrobras.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in employees of the research center at Petrobras. METHODS In a cross-sectional study, employees of the research center at Petrobras were assessed clinically and by laboratory testing from March 2000 and February 2001. Those who did not attend the periodical annual medical examination of 2000 were excluded from the study. The percentage of risk factor occurrence and the mean standard deviation of the biochemical variables, blood pressure, and body mass index were calculated. RESULTS Of 1,911 employees, 970 were studied, 75.4% were men and 24.6% were women with a mean age of 42.2 years old. The risk factors were lack of exercise (67.3%), cholesterol > 200 mg/dL (56.6%), overweight (42%), obesity (17%), blood hypertension (18.2%), smoking (12.4%), and diabetes mellitus (2.5%). CONCLUSION The high prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in young individuals draws attention to the need for the adoption of workplace programs to encourage healthy lifestyles and to prevent diseases.