Abstract

Background:ItisestimatedinWHONoncommunicableDiseases(NCD)CountryProfiles2011thatNCDaccountfor53% of all deaths. Of which, 24% are due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) alone. Lifestyle-related behavioral risk factors are mainly implicated among medical students. Objectives: To assess the awareness about CVD risk factors; to measure the cardiovascular risk behaviors using structured questionnaire; and to find the association between overweight and family history of CVDs among first-year medical students. MaterialsandMethods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among first-year medical students of Shridevi Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Hospital, Tumkur, Karnataka, India. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to obtain information. The study period was from March 2014 to May 2014. The data analysis was done using SPSS software, version 17. w2-test and unpaired t-test were used.
Results: The study subjects were 146 first-year medical students belonging to 17–22 year age group. There was lack of awareness about CVD risk factors. CVD risk behaviors were highly prevalent among medical students. Students with 2 family history of CVDs had higher mean body mass index (22.61 vs 21.44 kg/m , Po 0.05) than those without family history of CVDs. The association between overweight and family history of CVDs among students was statistically significant (Po 0.05). Conclusion: LackofawarenessaboutCVDriskfactorsandunhealthybehavioral practicesareprevalent among first-year medical students and may progress as students advance through medical college. Behavior change communication and health education strategies are essential.