CORONARY HEART-DISEASE RISK-FACTORS AND CIGARETTE-SMOKING AMONG RURALAFRICAN-AMERICANS

Cigarette smoking has been reported to worsen high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and other cardiac risk Factors, yet no studies have examined this issue among rural African Americans. This study examine s the association between cigarette smoking and cardiac risk factors a mong rural African Americans. A population-based sample of 403 African -American adults from two rural Virginia counties underwent total chol esterol (TC), HDL, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SEP and DBP) , body mass index (BMI), serum glucose, and glycosylated hemoglobin (G lyHb) measurements. Cross-sectional multivariate analyses were used to compare risk factors across categories of cigarette use. Age, BMI, al cohol consumption, and the use of antihypertensive medications were co variates in the analysis. Results indicated that Female light smokers had significantly lower SEP and DBP, and lower HDL. Female heavy smoke rs had significantly lower HDL and BMI and significantly higher TC/HDL ratios. Male heavy smokers had significantly higher SEP. More than 33 % of males and more than 50% of females were overweight and increasing BMI was associated with significantly or nearly significantly worseni ng of all other risk factor levels. Both cigarette smoking and obesity adversely affect other cardiac risk factors. Novel approaches are nee ded to decrease both smoking and obesity in this difficult to reach po pulation.