[Risk factors of coronary artery disease and their relationships with dietetic and social variables].

PURPOSE: To examine the relationships between diet, sociocultural factors, and the major coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factor: arterial blood pressure, serum lipids, and cigarette smoking.

METHODS

Four residential areas that sampled groups differing in their economic-sector participation were identified. Twenty families of each group were evaluated: "bóias-frias", agricultural labourers employed full-time on a plantation outside the city, factory workers and bank employees. Blood samples and other medical data were obtained either in health centers or in the work places. All blood samples were 12-16h fasting samples. Standard techniques were used to analyse total cholesterol, triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Dietary intake was estimated for each individual as an average of four 24h dietary recalls. These recalls, collected by trained nutritionists were converted to nutrient intake using USDA food tables, supplemented with Brazilian foods. Lifestyle incongruety was calculated from two components scores: a scale of style of life and a measure of household occupational class. Lifestyle incongruety is calculated by subtracting occupational class from style of life. Social support was assessed by asking respondents to whom they would turn to help in response to a variety of common problems. People with high social support and low lifestyle incongruety were classified as low social stress; people with low social support and high lifestyle incongruents as high social stress.

RESULTS

Higher dietary cholesterol, percent calories in the diet from polyunsaturated fat, calcium intake, and fiber intake were related to serum lipid; socioeconomic status to dietary intake; high social stress to higher diastolic blood pressure and an unfavorable pattern of serum lipids and smoking to age, sex, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle incongruety.

CONCLUSION

The process by which social change leads to an increased risk of CAD, and the specific behaviors of individuals could be altered to lower their risks.