Health and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Slums.

Overview

Cardiovascular risk factors and disease burden has been showed to affect more deeply to poorer populations. People who live in slums are the most vulnerable subgroup in the populations where, paradoxically scarcity of data exists on risk factors and cardiovascular disease burden. Our study aim to describe the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease burden in a representative sample of an urban slum of Buenos Aires city, using validated questions from the National Risk Factors Survey (edition 2013). Also, the investigators will measure blood pressure and cardiac rate to all study participants.

Cardiovascular risk factors and disease burden has been showed to affect more deeply to poorer populations. People who live in slums are the most vulnerable subgroup in the populations where, paradoxically scarcity of data exists on risk factors and cardiovascular disease burden. Hypothesis: the prevalence of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in an urban slum from Buenos Aires city is higher than the rest of the country and, consequently requires a distinctive management approach. Objectives: 1. To measure the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in a representative sample of the villa 31 (an urban slum from Buenos Aires city). 2. To measure the self-perceived health in a representative sample of the villa 31 (urban slum from Buenos Aires city). Design: observational study. Survey. Procedures: the survey will be conducted by neighbors from the slum that received specific training as community health workers and were trained on the use of the survey questionnaire and for blood pressure measuring. Sampling: representative samples of slum population will be obtained using probabilistic, multi-staged sampling methods. Blood pressure measures: blood pressure will be measured using automatic blood pressure monitoring device with appropriate cuff sizes. Statistical analyses: categorical variables will be expressed as numbers and percentages, and continuous variable as means and standard deviations or medians and interquartile ranges. Between groups comparisons will be conducted using chi2 test for categorical variables and T test or Mann-Whitney U's test for continuous variables. To compare the prevalence of risk factors with the rest of the country, the database will be jointed with the national risk factor survey (publicly available). All analyses will be weighted to account for the sampling method.