Prevalence of some modified cardiovascular risk factors among young students

Aim. To estimate the prevalence of some modified cardiovascular risk factors (RFs) among the students of two Moscow higher education institutions to further test the technology of individual medical prevention counseling. Subjects and methods. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 1912 first-year students (boys and girls, mean age 17.7 years) from 2 Moscow higher education institutions to reveal physical activity levels, smoking status, alcohol abuse, and food addictions. Results. Almost one third of the students (mainly girls) lead a sedentary lifestyle. The mean age at onset of smoking is 14.8 years. At the moment, the smoking students are 22% (28% of boys and 18% of girls). 12.2% of the respondents have moderate and high nicotine dependence. Most smokers demonstrate low motivation to give up smoking. The mean age for alcohol consumption is 15.8 years. 60% of the students use alcohol. There are no great differences in the drinking of alcoholic beverages between the girls and boys. 18% of the study sample students eat irregularly. Nearly 50% of the students add salt to cooked foods. 17% of the students eat too much sugar; more than 50% take sugar- and fat-laden foods. 54% of the students use vegetables and fruits insufficiently. Conclusion. Among all the modified cardiovascular RFs, alcohol use and irrational nutrition are most common among the students. Smoking and low physical activity are also relevant problems although these indicators among the students of Moscow are lower than among those in other regions of the Russian Federation. The found patterns call for the increased attention of the administrations of higher education institutions.