Background: The epidemic of cardiovascular diseases in Chile, requires the development of strategies in health promotion and prevention.
Aim: To assess the prevalence of risk factors for chronic non communicable diseases among workers of a financial company in Metropolitan Santiago.
Material and methods: Assessment of 2,225 workers (1,383 males with a median age of 49 years and 842 females with a median age of 43 years). All answered an enquiry about education, medical history, smoking habits and physical activity. Body mass index and blood pressure were measured and a blood sample was obtained to measure blood glucose and lipid levels. Logistic repression models were used to determine the main risk factors for hypertension, diabetes, obesity, hypercholesterolemia and hyperuricemia.
Results: Sixteen percent of studied subjects were obese, 49% had overweight, 57% had hypercholesterolemia, 28% had high blood pressure, 4% were diabetic, 4% had hyperuricemia, 45% smoked and 83% were sedentary. Each worker had a mean of 2.4+/-1.1 risk factors. This figure was significantly higher among men, obese subjects, those older than 40 years and those with a lower educational level.
Conclusions: There is an important disease burden among the studied subjects, specially among obese and older individuals. Healthy lifestyles should be promoted in this population.