Risco cardiovascular avaliado pelo índice de conicidade em mulheres no climatério: Análise comparativa entre os períodos pré e pós-menopausa

Abstract

AIMS: To evaluate cardiovascular risk by the conicity index in climacteric women, comparing the premenopausal and postmenopausal periods. METHODS: This cross-sectional study with secondary data, derived from the Female Aging Cohort Research's database, evaluated women between 35 and 65 years of age registered with the Family Health Strategy Units of the municipality of Ijuí, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The study included women who had assessment of general health conditions, as well as nutritional, clinical, and biochemical status, and excluded those diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus type I. The cardiovascular risk was determined by the conicity index obtained from measurements of body weight, height, and waist circumference. The women were divided in two groups: pre-menopausal and post-menopausal. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 102 women whose mean age was 51.5±7.9 years. Of these, 41 (40.2%) were premenopausal and 61 (59.8%) were postmenopausal. All participants had a high cardiovascular risk by the conicity index, but the mean index was higher in those in the postmenopausal period when compared to those in the premenopausal period (1.25±0.0 vs.1.19±0.9). Considering only women with low cardiovascular risk, the postmenopausal, compared to the premenopausal, presented higher values of waist circumference (84.8±5.5 vs. 78.0±7.5; p=0.005) and percentage of body fat (36.8±5.5 vs. 32.9±6.5; p=0.005). Considering the participants with high cardiovascular risk, the postmenopausal group presented higher values for the percentage of body fat (39.8±4.0 vs. 35.7±6.9; p=0.010), total cholesterol (204.9±42.7 vs. 184.2±40.0; p=0.005), glucose (107.3±65.4 vs. 82.5±14.1; p=0.001) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (132.4±41.8 vs. 109.3±38.8; p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The use of conicity index by primary care teams indicated that in this sample of women, regardless of climacteric phase, there where subclinical conditions for the development of cardiovascular disease. Those conditions were more pronounced in the group of women in the postmenopausal period.