The prevalence of modifiable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among Johannesburg school teachers

M.Phil. (Biokinetics)Abstract: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a progressive disease involving atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries that may lead to myocardial ischemia, angina and even infarction or death. Deaths attributed to CVD are on the rise and can be related to a sedentary lifestyle. Alterable lifestyle factors that contribute to CVD include diabetes, dyslipidaemia, obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity; previous research has found that physical activity has a significant protective effect on CVD risk among both men and women. Teachers potentially have a substantial influence on the behaviours of their learners, being a role model for a healthy lifestyle, but they may themselves be at risk of CVD. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of self-reported modifiable CVD risk factors in a cohort of Johannesburg school teachers. A quantitative, exploratory, descriptive research design was utilised in this research study. Two hundred school teachers (105 primary school teachers and 95 secondary school teachers) between the ages of 25 and 65 years were recruited from selected schools in Johannesburg. The average CVD risk for the participants indicated a moderate to high risk (11.09/36). The most prevalent modifiable CVD risk factors were high blood cholesterol (24%), physical inactivity (22%), high systolic blood pressure (19%), stress (16%), and overweight (13%). The most unknown risk factors reported were total blood cholesterol and blood pressure. If the “unknown” results of total blood cholesterol and blood pressure were excluded from the results, the three most prevalent self-reported modifiable CVD risk factors were inactivity, stress, and overweight. Significant differences between males and females (p<0.05) were observed for cigarette smoking(p=0.007), stress(p=0.046), and high blood cholesterol (0.024), with female teachers having a higher risk than male teachers. There was also a significant difference in cigarette smoking between primary school and secondary school teachers(p=0.045), with secondary school teachers smoking more than primary school teachers (p