Risk factors of coronary heart disease among medical students in King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

• Published in: BMC public health 2014-04, Vol.14 (1), p.411-411, Article 411
• Main Authors: Ibrahim, Nahla Khamis, Mahnashi, Morooj, Al-Dhaheri, Amal, Al-Zahrani, Borooj, Al-Wadie, Ebtihal, Aljabri, Mydaa, Al-Shanketi, Rajaa, Al-Shehri, Rawiah, Al-Sayes, Fatin M, Bashawri, Jamil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult education; Blood Pressure; Cardiovascular disease; Computer software industry; Confidence intervals; Construction; Coronary Disease - epidemiology; Coronary Disease - etiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Developing countries; Epidemiology; Exercise; Female; Gender; Health Behavior; Health risk assessment; Heart; Hospitals; Humans; LDCs; Lifestyles; Male; Males; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine, Experimental; Methods; Mortality; Physical fitness; Response rates; Review boards; Risk assessment; Risk Factors; Saudi Arabia - epidemiology; Sex Factors; Smoking; Smoking - adverse effects; Students; Students, Medical - statistics & numerical data; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Universities; Young adults
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-411

Nowadays, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) represents an escalating worldwide public health problem. Providing consistent data on the magnitude and risk factors of CVDs among young population will help in controlling the risks and avoiding their consequences. The objective was to estimate the prevalence of risk factors of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) among medical students during their clinical clerkship (4th - 6th years). A cross-sectional study was done during the educational year 2012-2013 at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah. Ethical standards were followed and a multistage stratified random sample method was used for selection of 214 medical students. Data was collected through an interviewing questionnaire, measurements and laboratory investigations. Both descriptive and analytical statistics were done by SPSS version 21. CHD risk percent in thirty years was calculated using Framingham algorithm for each student, then the risk among all students was determined. The commonest risk factors of CHDs were daily intake of high fat diet (73.4%), physical inactivity (57.9%), overweight/or obesity (31.2%) and daily consumption of fast food (13.1%). Hyper-cholesterolemia (17.2%) and hypertension (9.3%) were also prevalent risk factors. Smoking prevalence was low (2.8%). Males had significantly higher mean scores for most of CHD risk factors compared to females (p