cardiovascular risk factors in an urban population (17th zone of tehran): tehran university population laboratory study

introduction: urbanization, establishment of sedentary life style and unhealthy diet in association with environmental stress has led the cardiovascular risk factors to prevail in the metropolitan city of tehran. survey of lifestyle related cardiovascular risk factors is one of the priorities of tehran university population laboratory in the 17th zone of tehran. methods:1573 inhabitants of 17th zone of tehran were recruited by one stage cluster random sampling according to the model of who monica project. results: 58.6% of men and 64% of women had bmi ≥ 25 kg/m2. 41.7% of men and 37.6% of women had hypertension. 8.9% of men and 12.2% of women had diabetes. 34.4% of men and 44.6% of women had total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dl. 34.1% of men and 32.6% of women had triglyceride ≥ 200 mg/dl. 34.7% of men and 4.2% of women were regular smokers. 21% of participants had positive family history of cardiovascular disorders. conclusion: the prevalence of hypertension in this region is high, that of dyslipidemia relatively lower than the other studies performed in iran. the prevalence of diabetes and overweight /obesity is high and comparable to other iranian studies. it seems that the population of this zone is at high risk for stroke and then coronary heart disease. this fact must be considered in the future interventional programs to control cardiovascular risk factors in the region.