[Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in Maghrebian immigrants in a semiurban area of Barcelona].

BACKGROUND: The cardiovascular risk factors present a high prevalence in our country, similar to other countries of the Mediterranean area. We don't know which is the distribution of these risk factors in the Maghrebian immigrant population.

METHODS: There was designed a descriptive transverse study realized in 4 semiurban health center of Barcelona (Spain). 167 patients were included by means of consecutive sampling, between january 2005 and december 2006, major of age of a total population of 1127 Maghrebian assigned patients. There were studied the following cardiovascular risk factors: age, sex, smoking, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridemia, high blood pressure and diabetes mellitus, and information was gathered as: time of stay in our country, weight, height, body mass index, the accomplishment of physical exercise, as well as precedents of isquemic cardiophaty.

RESULTS: The middle ages were 36.79 years (SD 11.42) and 59,88% they were men. The average time of stay in our country was 4 years (P25-75, 2-6). The average IMC was of 26.96 (SD 5.21). 25.75% was smokers, 22.75% obesity, 19.76% hypercholesterolaemia, 15.57% hypertriglyceridemia, 10.78% diabetes mellitus, 10.78% hypertension and 1.2% CI's precedents. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was higher in women, with a significant difference in obesity, 35.82% by 14% (P <0.002), men had a higher prevalence of smoking, 40% from 4.48% in women (P <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: In our study the North African immigrant population has a prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors different from that obtained in population studies in Morocco, with a clear tendency to resemble the Spanish population of the host.