Cardiovascular risk factors in a sample of a rural Belgian population: The Bellux MONICA Study

ABSTRACT. A sample of 1949 subjects of the population of the Belgian province of Luxembourg was screened for levels of cardiovascular risk factors. Cigarette smoking was more prevalent among males (51 %) than among females (17 %). The relationship between smoking and socio-economic status was inverse in males (M) and direct in females (F). Blood pressure (BP) measurements showed definite high BP in 10 % of this sample, and 60 % of those with definite high BP were not taking any hypertensive drugs. The average total cholesterol value was 6.49 mmol/L in M and 6.45 mmol/L in F. F had lower values than M at a younger age, but higher values than M at an older age. The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was higher in F (1.57 mmol/L) than in M (1.27 mmol/L). Diabetes was present in 4.2 % of this sample. In nearly half of these participants, the disease had been discovered during the screening. Obesity was especially frequent among F in all three age groups. In conclusion, the main cardiovascular risk factors were found to be at a fairly high level in this population sample.