Comparisons of Cardiometabolic Biomarkers, Lifestyle Behaviors, and Dietary Sodium and Potassium Intake in a Representative Sample of Korean Adults with and without Cardio-cerebrovascular Diseases

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the cardiometabolic condition of obesity, blood pressure (BP), cholesterol, dietary sodium and potassium intake, and lifestyle behaviors of persons with cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, with those who are disease-free in Korea. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted using a representative sample of Korean adults. Results: Of 10,906 Korean adults (mean age 43.12 +/- 0.24 years, women 50.4%), 9,074 were disease-free and 1,520 had hypertension, 137 stroke, and 175 ischemic heart disease. Compared with the diseasefree group, obesity, BP, and total cholesterol were higher for the hypertensives. 25.5% of ischemic heart disease group were still smoking; 14.9% of hypertensives were heavy alcohol drinkers. Physical activity was lower in cardio-cerebrovascular diseases than disease-free group. No significant association was found between Na/K ratio adequacy and types of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Conclusion: The cardiometabolic condition varied, with hypertensives having a higher prevalence for obesity, high BP, and cholesterol; poorer adherence to the behavioral recommendations was also noted in cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Such variations in cardiovascular risks would provide implications for addressing vulnerability across groups. (C) 2017 Korean Society of Nursing Science, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.