Epidemiology and possibility of prevention of ischaemic heart disease risk factors among students in various USSR regions. Programme and first results of All-Union Cooperative Study.

Screening examination of 12,191 students in their first year of study at medical faculties and technical institutes in Moscow, Kharkov, Alma-Ata and Tashkent showed the following prevalence of major risk factors of ischaemic heart disease among males and females: arterial hypertension: 4.6-17%; 1.2-6.5%; smoking: 20.2-41.0%; 0-3.5%; overweight 6.2-16.9%; 8.1-18.3%; low physical activity: 35.0-67.4%; 40.7-86.4%. Active intervention aimed at preventing the mentioned risk factors, carried out in Kharkov (2 years) and in Alma-Ata (1 year) led to a decrease in the prevalence of arterial hypertension and smoking, and to an increase in the degree of the student's physical activity, but did not have a demonstrable effect on the development of overweight.