CHARACTERISTICS OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND BODY COMPOSITION OF OFFICERS WITH RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

The study involved 139 officers at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, whose average age was 40.4±3.6 years. The study aimed to determine the factor structure based on a comprehensive analysis of the morphological state indicators of service members at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and to investigate the influence of the selected factors on blood pressure indicators. The following research methods were used in the study: theoretical, anthropometric, bioimpedance analysis of body composition, and methods of mathematical statistics. Analysis of the officers' physical development indicators revealed a significant excess of the limit values of their neck circumference (median 40.0 cm, 25th and 75th percentiles 39.0 cm and 43.0 cm, respectively, with a norm of 37.0 cm) and a high prevalence of abdominal obesity in them (81.3% have an increased of waist circumference). Analysis of the results of the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) index revealed that the majority of the officers (59%, n=82) have an average risk of developing abdominal obesity, but a significant proportion (25.2%, n=35) fall into the high-risk category. The maximum WHR value was 1.64, indicating severe abdominal obesity and an extremely high health risk in some cases. Analysis of the thickness of the skin-fat folds revealed a tendency to accumulate fat in the trunk area. In the majority of the officers, 87.1% (n=121), the thickness of the fold under the scapula, and in 70.5% (n=98), the fold on the abdomen exceeded 15 mm. Analysis of the body composition of the military personnel revealed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity (91.4% pers. had a body mass index above the WHO norm). A significant part of the subjects had an increased total fat content; in particular, the median value was 26.7% (standard 18.0÷25.0%). 12.2% of officers have excess visceral fat, and 14.4% have impaired hydration. The results of the body composition assessment revealed that the majority of the officers (73.4%) had signs of obesity, of which 37.4% had large body sizes, 36.0% had medium body sizes, and only 15.1% had a standard body type. To simplify the analysis of the influence of numerous indicators on the risk of cardiovascular diseases developing in military personnel, factor analysis using the principal component method was applied, which allowed us to identify three factors that collectively explain 65.6% of the total variance: ‘Body mass and body dimensions’ (36.1%), ‘Fat and muscle mass content’ (21.4%) and ‘Localization of fat deposits’ (8.1%). Correlation analysis revealed statistically significant direct correlations between the complex of anthropometric indicators and blood pressure levels. The strongest correlations were observed between waist circumference and systolic (r= 0.401, p<0.001) and diastolic (r=0.347, p<0.001) blood pressure, confirming the role of abdominal obesity as a significant risk factor for arterial hypertension. Similar, although somewhat weaker, relationships were observed between neck circumference (r=0.381 and r=0.359 for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, p<0.001). Conclusions. The identified violations of the normative values in the vast majority of the studied indicators of physical development and body composition closely correlate with the blood pressure level. This emphasizes the study's relevance and indicates the need to implement comprehensive preventive measures to correct lifestyle, nutrition, and physical activity to improve health and reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.