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

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Abstract
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%; 0.001), abdominal obesity (62.5% versus 39.8%; 0.001), BMI of 25 kg/m2 and above (55.1% versus 45.9%; 001) and physically inactivity (25.4% versus 18.6%; 0.001) compared to males. In contrast, males significantly showed a higher prevalence of current smokers (45.3% versus 1.3%; 0.001) and current drinkers (18.2 versus 7.1%; 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%; 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.
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Cardiovascular diseases, Working age, Gender, National Health and Morbidity Survey
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