Hypercholesterolemia and 5-year risk of development of coronary heart disease among university and school workers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Background, A study was performed among university and school employees as a step in detecting the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk fac tors among school and university staff and the relation of the various risk factors to hypercholesterolemia and to predict the 5-years probability of development of CHD, Methods, All university staff and a sample of school workers in jeddah were included in the study. Data were collected by interview and self-administe red questionnaires, as well as by direct observation and measurement of wei ght, height, blood pressure, and total blood cholesterol, Logistic regressi on analysis was performed to identify the impact of various risk factors on hypercholesterolemia. The 5-year risk of development of CHD was calculated to identify the proportion at highest risk. Results, Some CHD risk factors were detected among the participants as 18.8 % were current cigarette smokers, around half were classified as overweight , and 19.9% were classified as hypertensive. Hypercholesterolemia was prese nt in 10.1% and was significantly related to older age (40 years and over) and place of work. The estimated risk of CHD in the coming half-decade for those classified in the fifth quintile was 0.068. The Q(5)/Q(1) ratio has s hown that those classified in the fifth quintile were at 3.6 times more ris k of developing CHD in the coming 5 years than those classified in the firs t quintile, Conclusion, CHD risk factors are becoming prevalent in our society. The ris k of development of CHD in the coming decades is not trivial. Short- and lo ng-term health strategies are recommended to decrease the risk of CHD and i mprove the quality of life, (C) 2000 American Health Foundation and Academi c Press.