Assessment of Risk of Metabolic Syndrome and Cardio Vascular Diseases among Medical Students in India

Abstract

Background: Medical students are vulnerable to various lifestyle disorders due to improper diet, physical activity and inadequate sleep. Aims: To assess the risk status of components of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases among medical students. Methods: Information was collected using a standard self-administered questionnaire. Blood pressure, waist circumference, height and weight of students were measured using standard procedures. Fasting blood sample was taken for plasma glucose, lipid profile, cortisol levels and thyroid hormone assays. Results: Eighty-eight participants with mean age 21.9 ± 1.1 years took part in this study. Thirty-one (35.2%) participants reported fried food consumption every day. Majority of the participants 35(39.8%) reported moderate exercise less than once a week. Most participants 83 (94.3%) had sleep duration of ≤8 hours at night. Various components of metabolic syndrome like waist circumference (WC), triglyceride (TG) levels, high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, blood pressure (BP) values and fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels were abnormal in 36 (40.9%), 2 (2.3%), 39 (44.3%), 21 (23.9%) and 7 (7.9%) participants respectively. Obesity was present among 33 (37.5%) students. Positive correlation between body mass index (BMI) with WC (p<0.001) and TG (p=0.011) and negative correlation between BMI and HDL levels (p=0.008) was observed. There was also a positive correlation between WC with SBP (p=0.006) and with DBP (p=0.049) values. One or more risk factors of metabolic syndrome was present among 67 (76.1%) participants. It was present among greater proportion of participants with sleep duration of ≤8 hours at night (p=0.05). Medium to high risk of cardiovascular diseases was observed among 30 (34.1%) participants. Conclusion: High proportions of students are vulnerable to develop metabolic syndrome and cardio vascular diseases in this setting. BMI assessment can be used as best predictor to identify the high-risk groups. Improvement in diet, physical activity and adequate sleep duration is required for risk mitigation.

Assessment of Nutrition Knowledge among University Students in Ankara

“…The rate of answering the item "Consuming leguminous food increases bad cholesterol (LDL)" as true saying that it is false was 31.7%. It would be possible to prevent cholesterol accumulation in veins with a decrease of LDL-cholesterol in diet and an increase in HDL-cholesterol [18]. Due to the fiber content, legume is helpful in showing this effect.…”

Risk Behaviors for Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases in Medical Students

“…O consumo alimentar inadequado, com elevado consumo de gorduras, açúcar e sal parece ser bastante comum entre os jovens 29,30 especialmente entre universitários 4,28,31 . O baixo consumo de frutas e verduras também já foi apontado como um hábito comum entre os brasileiros 23,29 e também entre estudantes de outras nacionalidades 6,31 . É comum que, diante de uma rotina atarefada, muitos estudantes optem por uma alimentação mais prática, de rápido preparo, mais rica em gorduras, ao invés de produtos mais saudáveis.…”

“…A falta de tempo para realizar atividades de lazer devido a uma jornada exaustiva de estudos pode ser uma das grandes razões para este resultado encontrado. Outros estudos 6,9,32 também registraram um alto número de estudantes que relataram uma prática de atividade física abaixo do é recomendado. Acadêmicos do curso médico são menos ativos quando comparados aos acadêmicos de outros cursos da área da saúde 4 .…”

“…A preocupação com a qualidade de vida do acadêmico de medicina tem instigado diversas pesquisas, pois existem fatores estressantes na educação médica que refletem diretamente na saúde dos estudantes [1][2][3] . Não é raro que estudantes universitários em geral adotem um estilo de vida pouco saudável, e os estudantes de medicina, apesar dos conhecimentos na área da saúde, também assumem hábitos de vida prejudiciais à própria saúde [4][5][6] .…”

Normal levels of TSH affect the metabolic profile differently in physically active males and females

“…However, this issue was studied mostly in middle-aged and older adults as a consequence of increased thyroid gland disease with age [3,4]. Data concerning metabolic effects of variability in normal level circulating TSH in young adults are scarce and their results are interpreted for combined male and female participants [5,6]. On the other hand, it is well documented that sex hormones significantly contribute to the regulation of thyroid function due to functional associations between the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis (HPT) and the hypothalamic -pituitary gonadal axis (HPG) at least in part due to estrogen and androgen receptor expression in thyroid glands [7,8].…”