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Relationship between high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease in older adults in Riobamba, Ecuador

Abstract:

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) constitute one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality globally, generating a substantial burden both for health care systems and for people's quality of life. Objective: The objective was to relate high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease in older adults at the city of Riobamba, Ecuador. Methods: This was a relational research, characterized by its observational, cross-sectional, analytical and retrospective typology. The group of study subjects consisted of 125 older adults under medical care at the Riobamba, Ecuador. The Phi Coefficient was applied as a statistical technique, with the support of SPSS 25 software. The researcher's hypothesis suggested that there was a significant association between high cholesterol and the presence of CVD in this population of older adults. Results: A total of 61 patients (48.8 %) had normal cholesterol levels, while 64 (51.2 %) had elevated cholesterol levels. The Phi coefficient was 0.602, which showed a positive association between high cholesterol and the presence of CVD in the older adult population, with a P-value of 0.074. Conclusions: Although the Phi Coefficient suggested a positive relationship between high cholesterol and the presence of CVD, this relationship was not statistically significant. The test results did not allow us to reject the null hypothesis that there was no significant correlation between these two variables in the population studied.