Prevalence of Selected Risk Factors For coronary Heart Disease Among Egyptians Residing in Abu Dhabi City

Abstract

The present study was carried on to estimate the prevalence of some selected coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors among Egyptians residing in Abu Dhabi city and to study the relation of these risk factors with duration of stay in Abu Dhabi, family deprivation and family income. The study was designed as a cross-sectional study including 377 males in the age range from I 9 to 6 I years. The study subjects were collected during the pre-employment medical checkup and during the follow up medical checkup which is required for the renewal of residency visas. The study subjects were investigated for abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, cigarettes smoking, diabetes mellitus, obesity and physical inactivity. 39.3% of the studied subjects had plasma total cholesterol level 200 mg/dl, 51.5% had HDL-cholesterol level <35mg/dl and 44.8% had LDL-cholesterol level 130 mg/dl. The overall prevalence of diabetes mellitus (random blood sugar 200 mg/dl) was 2.7%, hypertension (BP 140/90 mm Hg or reported antihypertensive medications) 61.3%, overweight (BMI 25) 63.9%, high waist to hip ratio( 0.95) 18.6%, physical inactivity 21.2%

and cigarettes smoking 40.8%. Duration of stay in UAE and family income had unfavorable effect on some of the investigated risk factors, while family deprivation had beneficial effect on some of them. With exclusion of diabetes mellitus and high waist to hip ratio, Egyptians residing in Abu Dhabi city showed high prevalence in the investigated CHD risk factors. Further studies are needed to assess the risk of CHD among Egyptians living outside the country.