ABSTRACT
Background: Nowadays, cardiovascular diseases [CVDs] represent an escalating worldwide public health problem. Providing consistent data on the magnitude and risk factors of cardiovascular diseases [CVDs] among young population will help in controlling the risks and avoiding their consequences
Objective: 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]
Methods: A cross-sectional study was done during the educational year 2016-2017 at Almaarefa Colleges. Ethical standards were follow 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. Coronary heart disease [CHD] risk percent in thirty years was calculated using Framingham algorithm for each student, then the risk among all students was determined
Results: The commonest risk factors of coronary heart disease [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%]. Hypercholesterolemia [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 coronary heart disease [CHD] risk factors compared to females [p < 0.05]. Systolic Blood Pressure was higher among males [119.47 +/- 11.17] compared to females [112.26 +/- 9.06]. A highly statistical significant difference was present [Students test = 4.74, p < 0.001]. Framingham Risk Score revealed that coronary heart disease [CHD] risk percent in thirty years among all students was 10.7%, 2.3% and 0.5% for mild, moderate and severe risk, respectively
Conclusion: An alarmingly high prevalence of coronary heart disease [CHD] risk factors was prevailed among medical students, especially among males. However, a low prevalence of smoking may indicate the success of "Smoke-free Campus" program. Screening risk factors of coronary heart disease [CHD] among medical students and implementation of intervention programs are recommended. Programs to raise awareness about coronary heart disease [CHD] risk factors, encourage young adult students to adopt a healthy dietary behavior and promote physical exercise should be initiated