Study of the high prevalence and cardiovascular risk factors: students aged 11 to 16 years from Caceres-Spain and Paranavaí-Brazil

Objective: to investigate the association of risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases in students from 11 to 16 years old in different contexts. Material and method: Sample composed by students of Cáceres - Spain (n = 165) and Paranavaí - Brazil (n = 237). Body Mass Index, level of physical activity, blood pressure, total cholesterol, low- and high-density lipoproteins, triglycerides and fasting blood glucose were analyzed. For the analysis of variables, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, Student t, Mann-Whitney U, Chi-square, and Odds Ratio were used, with a 95% confidence interval, a value of p <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Spanish students have higher average values of age, physical activity level, obesity in general, low- and high-density lipoproteins and fasting blood glucose (p <0.05). Brazilians had a greater accumulation of risk factors compared to the Spanish, specifically only 8.5% of Brazilians are exempt from RF compared to 28.2% of Spanish. It is observed that there is a higher prevalence of two RFs (G-BRA: 40.7% vs. G-ESP: 24.2%); and three or more RF (G-BRA 27.0% vs. G-ESP: 13.7%), considering a value of p <0.001. Being more active was associated with HDL levels among Brazilians. Although Spanish students had a higher prevalence of general obesity, they were more active. Conclusion: Spanish students showed better results in physical activity levels, fasting glucose concentration, high and low density lipoproteins, in addition to a lower number cardiovascular risk factors, despite being mainly from public schools; with higher average age and higher general obesity prevalence, compared to Brazilians