Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Preventive Behaviors in Young Working Women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one killer of women in the United States (McSweeney, Pettey, Souder, & Rhoads, 2011). The endothelial dysfunction that leads to CVD progresses over decades and preceding its development are a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors (Lucero et al., 2014). Of concern, is the unfavorable trend of an increase in these risk factors noted among young women, (Roger et al., 2011), often manifesting in the reproductive years. Younger women are a vulnerable, understudied group with worsening cardiac risk profiles and excess mortality following acute myocardial infarction Izadnegahdar (2014). The theoretical framework is adapted from Witter et al. (2013) and provides a working model for managing and monitoring CVD risk. The purpose of this research is to examine heart healthy preventive behaviors in a sample of young working women in the Unites States with and without cardiometabolic risk factors for CVD. The research questions are (1) What is the level of smoking, physical activity, and maintenance of a healthy body weight (BMI ≤30mg/kg²) in a convenience sample of young working women, aged 18 – 25 who have risk factors for CVD?; (2) Is there a correlation between cardiometabolic risk factors and heart healthy preventive behaviors in a sample of young working women between the ages of 18-25 years of age?; and (3) Does the presence of cardiometabolic risk factors in young working women predict preventive behaviors? This study used a secondary analysis design based on a CVD conceptual model by Witter et al. (2013) adapted to reflect obesity as a preventive behavior in the control of the individual. The sub-sample for this study was selected from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey and yielded 1,538 subjects. Demographic data was analyzed by means of descriptive statistics. Correlation coefficients among variables were generated to determine if relationships existed among variables. Regression models were developed to test multivariate relationships among variables and determine the best predictors of preventive behaviors in young women. The odds ratio for this sample suggests young working women with risk factors are almost twice as likely to not participate in healthy preventive behaviors