High blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular risk factors in workers in a market square in a municipality of Antioquia, Colombia, 2017-2018

Abstract

Introduction. Diseases like diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure are increasingly frequent worldwide, with significant associated social costs. Objective. To evaluate the prevalence of high blood pressure and diabetes in workers in the marketplace of a municipality in Antioquia, Colombia, and the associated risk factors. Methodology. An analytical cross-sectional observational study was conducted on a census of 194 workers, of which 152 had a medical-labor assessment and a survey of socio-demographic and labor data. A previous standardization of the evaluators was made with data quality control and univariate and bivariate data analysis, with IC 95%. Results. 57% were women, 73.4% earned less than the current legal monthly minimum wage; 65.8% worked between 9 and 12 hours, and 11.9% between 13 and 18 hours per day. 62.4% don’t engage in physical activity, and 67.0% prefer fried food. 20.9% had high blood pressure that was associated with marital status, age, seniority in the trade, systolic pressure at the time of evaluation, family history, and gender. 9.2% had diabetes mellitus, and this was associated with marital status, age, and systolic pressure at the time of evaluation. Conclusions. There is an informal working population with a high burden of disease and risk factors, which shows the need for public policies and programs specifically focused on their risk and lifestyles.