Less than 2% of the studied Iranian government employees had ideal cardiovascular health, highlighting a critical need for targeted health interventions.
Cardiovascular health (CVH) is a critical public health concern, with notable biological sex disparities impacting health outcomes. This study evaluates CVH status using the Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) metric among an employee of a government office of men and women in Birjand, Iran. A cross-sectional study design was employed to assess CVH among employee of a government office in Birjand, Iran, from July 23 to September 27, 2023. Demographic information and the eight health factors were collected using standardized methods. The LE8 metric encompasses four health behaviors (smoking status, physical activity, diet, and sleep) and four health factors (body mass index, blood glucose levels, blood lipid levels, and blood pressure). Data were entered into SPSS, and analyses were conducted at a significance level of P ≤ 0.05 to compare LE8 scores and associated cardiovascular risk factors between biological sex. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 20. Of the total 319 individuals enrolled in the study, 251 (78.7%) were male and 68 (21.3%) were female. About 98.1% of the participants scored below the ideal CVH status, with significant biological sex differences observed. Women exhibited higher mean scores than men across most components of LE8, except for body mass index and physical activity. Women had more favorable levels of non-HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose, and smoking prevalence, resulting in mean LE8 scores of 64.27 for women and 59 for men. The study’s results indicated that less than 2% of the participants had an ideal cardiovascular health status. Most components of the 8 CVH factors were found to be in worse condition in men than in women. These findings highlight the critical necessity for focused, gender-sensitive interventions and strategic health planning aimed at enhancing cardiovascular health among both Iranian women and men. Therefore, further research in larger, more diverse populations is essential to address this pressing issue effectively.
Kazemi et al. (Tue,) studied this question.