A Study On Cardiovascular Risk And Lifestyle Behaviors Among Teaching Doctors Of Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh.

Context: Globally, around 17.9 million people annually die due to CVDs, followed by cancers (9.3 million), respiratory diseases (4.1 million), and diabetes (2 million). The cause of heart attacks and strokes are due to combination of risk factors- tobacco use, unhealthy diet, obesity, physical inactivity, alcohol use, hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia. Most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing these behavioural risk factors. Objectives: 1) To know the life style approach of doctors working in various departments in the institute. 2) To assess cardiovascular risk behavior of these subjects and to make them alert in preserving their health. Methods and Material: A cross-sectional study was carried out amongst teaching staff of Government Medical College & General Hospital, Ongole, Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh during the period of August to October 2023. All the teaching staff of Government Medical College, Ongole who were willing to participate in the study were included in this study by purposive sampling method. Total number of staff who was more than 30 years of age was 109. The study was performed 91 teaching staff as 18 denied participation). A pre – designed, pretested, semi structured questionnaire was used for collecting details on socio-demographic profile, lifestyle related details like diet and physical activity, habits and existing co-morbidities. Statistical analysis was done by using appropriate statistical test like mean, percentage, standard deviation, student’s t test and chi square test. Results: Majority participants were female 50 (54.9%). The mean age of mean age of female was 37.4 ± 10.22 and male was 42.61 ± 9.54 years. The mean weight (78.90 ± 10.81) and Mean BMI (28.22±4.24) were above the normal range among the male participants. History of hypertension was more common in the 45-54 age group which signifies that age is one of the most important risk factor. History of diabetes mellitus was more in the 45-54 age group followed by 35-44 age group. In the 35-44 age group the high prevalence of diabetes is due to family history of diabetes. Conclusions: This study showed a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and signifies the importance of health awareness among the staff members regarding the various cardiovascular risk factors.