Has brief counselling an impact on the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in 40-year-old men. A three-year follow-up study

The metabolic syndrome presents a serious challenge to health professionals. The aim of the present study is to analyze the impact of a brief counselling on cardiovascular risk factors among 40-year-old men. Forty-six males living in north-eastern Helsinki voluntarily completed the follow-up study between 2001 and 2004, and were assessed for clinical risk factors. The mean differences were de- termined by a paired t-test, and the interaction between groups and time by the F-test with repeated measures ANOVA. After baseline assessment and in 2002, males received a 45 minute nurse-delivered counselling session with self-administered protocol. Cardiovas- cular risk factors improved significantly (p<0.05) from baseline within months. However, the final measurements obtained after three years showed that almost all risk factors, except the low and high density lipoprotein, tended to revert back to baseline. The profiles were similar in all predictor groups. Brief counselling had an impact on risk factors measured in 2002, but only a partial effect on them in 2004. Conclusive results lead to the idea thatmore collaboration is needed between private health care agencies and official primary health care for ensuring the continuity of improved health habits among middle-aged males.