Health Promotion and Maintenance Q 73
There are a number of risk factors associated with coronary artery disease. Which of the following is a modifiable risk factor?
A. Obesity
B. Heredity
C. Gender
D. Age
Correct Answer: A. Obesity
Obesity is an important risk factor for coronary artery disease that can be modified by improved diet and weight loss. Individuals are diagnosed as overweight when body mass index (BMI) is between 25 to 29.8 kg/m^2 and obese when BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg/m^2. Conditions of both overweight and obesity increase the ASCVD risk compared to normal weight. Recommendations include annual calculation of BMI, and lifestyle modification, including calorie restriction and weight loss, based on the BMI values.
Option B: Coronary artery disease is a multifactorial phenomenon. Etiologic factors can be broadly categorized into non-modifiable and modifiable factors. Non-modifiable factors include gender, age, family history, and genetics.
Option C: In developed countries like the U.S. and the UK, mortality rates due to ischemic heart diseases are decreasing. Nevertheless, according to AHA, 16.5 million people older than 20 in the U.S. had coronary artery disease in 2018, and 55% of them were males. The male gender is more predisposed than the female gender.
Option D: Advancing age increases risk but cannot be modified. The incidence of CAD is observed to rise with age, regardless of gender. In the ONACI registry in France, the incidence of CAD was about 1% in the 45 to 65 age group, which increased to about 4% as the age group reached 75 to 84 years.