[Effects of an educational campaign on cardiovascular risk factors in a French town (Epernon, study town). Methods and preliminary results: prevalence and level of risk factors]

Abstract

The authors report the methods and preliminary findings of a study scheduled to last 5 years, which aims to evaluate cardiovascular risk factor changes in response to an education program. The population sample consisted of 961 subjects, from Epernon itself (the study town) and from two control towns. The assessment criteria were reported at the beginning of the study and then again after 2 and 5 years. They consisted of an analysis of medical events and of biomedical and dietary data and a detailed analysis of behavior with regard to health and socio-economic variables. Preliminary data show that the samples were similar in Epernon and the control towns and also comparable to some French epidemiological data. There is a striking difference between the percentage of subjects aware of their blood pressure (65.5%) and blood cholesterol (13.4%) levels.