Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one among the leading causes of death world over and in India. Risk factors for CVD have their beginnings early in life, and early detection and correction could have far-reaching implications in arresting the rising trend of mortality and morbidity due to CVD. Objectives: This study was done with the objective of assessing the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among college attending youths in Bengaluru urban district and to study the factors associated with these risks.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study among 1267 college students, aged 15-24 years in five colleges of Bengaluru urban district. Modified National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey questionnaire and glazer stress scale were administered to elicit prevalence of risk factors. Height, weight, and blood pressure were measured. Data were analyzed for frequencies, means and standard deviations and proportions compared using Chi-square test.
Results: The prevalence of physical inactivity was 82%, stress was 56%, and that of unhealthy dietary habits was 42%. Alcohol consumption was reported by 25% of the students, tobacco consumption by 14%, both in the smoked and smokeless forms. On examination, 11.4% of the students were hypertensive, 24.9% underweight, and 6.1% overweight of them 0.4% were obese. A positive family history of CVD or death was positive among 50.4% of young adults.
Conclusions: The present study shows the presence of several cardiovascular risk factors among college students. Interventions in the form of health education among youth adults regarding the need for adopting healthy lifestyles as well as regarding the ill effects of smoking, alcohol, physical inactivity, unhealthy dietary habits, and managing stress could help address the burden of modifiable risk factors.