The Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Obesity in Firefighters

Table 3

Influence of obesity on cardiovascular disease risk factors.

	BMI <30	BMI ≥30	𝑃 value
	(𝑛 (%))	(𝑛 (%))
Individual risk factor
Age ≥45 years	25 (21.6)	30 (25.9)	0.564
Smoking	22 (19.0)	19 (16.4)	0.391
Hypertension	4 (3.4)	7 (6.0)	0.406
High cholesterol	7 (6.0)	9 (7.8)	0.696
Diabetes	1 (1.1)	1 (1.1)	0.926
Family history of CVD	2 (1.7)	4 (3.4)	0.452
Overall risk (𝑛=92)
Low	11 (12.0)	9 (9.8)	0.625
Moderate	19 (20.7)	26 (28.3)
High	13 (14.1)	14 (15.2)

BMI: body mass index; CVD: cardiovascular disease; risk factors and categories defined by ACSM guidelines [42]: smoking: current smoker; hypertension: systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg, confirmed by measurements on at least 2 separate occasions, or on antihypertensive medication; high cholesterol: LDL cholesterol >130 mg⋅dL⁻¹ or total cholesterol >200 mg⋅dL⁻¹ or on lipid-lowering medication; diabetes: fasting glucose ≥100 mg⋅dL⁻¹ confirmed by measurements on at least 2 separate occasions; family history of CVD: myocardial infarction or sudden death before 55 years of age in father or before 65 years of age in mother. Overall risk: low: men <45 years of age, asymptomatic, 1 or less risk factors; moderate: men ≥45 or 2 or more risk factors; high: ≥1 signs or symptoms suggestive of cardiovascular, pulmonary, or metabolic disease or known cardiovascular, pulmonary, or metabolic disease (e.g., pain or discomfort in the chest or other areas that may result from ischemia, shortness of breath at rest or with mild exertion, dizziness or syncope, orthopnea or paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, ankle edema, palpitations or tachycardia, intermittent claudication, known heart murmur, unusual fatigue or shortness of breath with usual activities).