Women, occupation, marital status and non-communicable disease risk factors: findings from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study

Objective(s): To investigate the relationship between the presence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases and occupation and marital status in Tehran women. Methods: The sample was composed of 566 working women (216 single, 350 married) and 561 age-matched non-working subjects (151 single, 410 married), selected randomly from among 15005 participants in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS). Questionnaires were used to obtain demographic information. In addition, we recorded height, weight, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, body mass index (BMI), and waist to hip ratio (WHR). Serum total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were measured and oral glucose tolerance test (GTT) performed. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were calculated using the Friedwald formula. We used Studentchr('39')s t test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare working and non-working women. Variables entered in the model included occupation, marital status, and education. Results: The mean± SD age in single and married subjects in the working group was 34.3±8.4 and 34.7±9.0 years, respectively. The same values for single and married subjects in the non-working group were 34.4±8.0 and 35.0±9.0 years. There were significant associations between marital status and the prevalence of all non-communicable disease risk factors (P