Risk Factors of Ischemic Heart Disease and Risk-Related Awareness in University Students

Abstract

Objective: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the most fatal disease in Turkey. The present study attempted to explore IHD risk factors and risk-related awareness among university students. Materials and Methods: We took the height, weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure measurements of 786 university students and tried to identify their IHD risk factors and risk-related awareness through a survey. The study was carried out on a public university campus over three weekends in October 2022. Results: The findings showed that the most common modifiable IHD risk factors were poor physical activity (48.9%), smoking (30.5%), and overweight/obesity (21.5%) in our sample aged 18-35 years. Yet, the most prevalent non-modifiable risk factor was found to be familial chronic diseases (29.9%). Besides, the participants were found to have poor knowledge of IHD risk factors (8.9±2.5). Our other remarkable finding demonstrated that the male students’ knowledge of CVD was poorer than their female counterparts, although the male gender is a non-modifiable CVD risk factor. Conclusion: Participants with a relatively high level of education, interestingly, had poor knowledge and risk awareness of IHD despite bearing a higher rate of IHD risk factors.