Gender Differences in the Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risks Among Working-age Population in Malaysia

• DOI: 10.32802/asmscj.2023.1591
• Publication Date: 2024-06-27T03:11:09Z
• Authors: S Maria Awaluddin; Noor Syaqilah Sha...; Tuan Mohd Amin Tu...; Thamil Arasu Sami...; Nurhamizah Nasaru...; Nazirah Alias; Kuang Kuay Lim

This article aims to determine the gender differences in the common CVD risk prevalence among the working-age population in Malaysia. A national survey was conducted in 2019 using a validated questionnaire and several clinical measurements. The prevalence of eight CVD risks and the prevalence of more than three CVD risks by gender were calculated via a complex sample design using IBM SPSS version 25. Females were noted to have a significantly higher prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (40.3% versus 29.0%; p<0.001), abdominal obesity (62.5% versus 39.8%; p<0.001), BMI of 25 kg/m2 and above (55.1% versus 45.9%; p<0.001) and physically inactivity (25.4% versus 18.6%; p<0.001) compared to males. In contrast, males significantly showed a higher prevalence of current smokers (45.3% versus 1.3%; p<0.001) and current drinkers (18.2 versus 7.1%; p<0.001) compared to females. For diabetes mellitus and hypertension, males and females had nearly similar prevalences and were statistically insignificant (14.4% versus 14.9%; p=0.579 and 24.2% versus 22.1%; p=0.112, respectively). The prevalence of those with more than three CVD risks was significantly higher among males compared to females (7.4% versus 4.7%; p<0.001). Gender differences were observed in the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, abdominal obesity, BMI of 25 kg/m2 and above, physical inactivity, current tobacco smoker and current drinker among working-age population in Malaysia.