A study on estimating the cardiovascular disease risk among medical students in central Kerala: The INTERHEART method

Abstract

Background: The incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in India is increasing at an alarming pace. Professionals with high-job stress and a sedentary lifestyle are at a great risk of developing CVD. Medical students are a population with very high level of stress and less time for exercise. Aim: The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of CVD risk among medical students and to compare with that of same age general population. Setting and Design: A cross-sectional study in the suburb of Ernakulam district of South India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey using standardized interviews along with measurement of blood pressure and waist/hip ratio among medical students and the general population. CVD risk for both groups calculated using the nonlaboratory-based INTERHEART modifiable risk score. Results: A total of 1014 people participated in the study (mean age: 21.3 ± 1.3), among which 396 were medical students and 618 were age-matched general population. Overall, 17.8% were found to have a moderate risk of CVD, and 2.8% were found to have high risk of CVD. Among medical students, 21% were at moderate risk for CVD (vs. 14.6% in general population, P = 0.01), similarly, 2.8% of both groups were at high risk for developing CVD (P = 1.0). Medical students had significantly lower prevalence of smoking (4% vs. 13.4%, P ≤ 0.001) and were physically more active than the general population (86.04% vs. 70.9%, P ≤ 0.001). There were no significant differences in the two groups regarding the other risk factors. Conclusion: The risk of CVD among both the medical students and age-matched general population are high in central Kerala; however, the medical students are not at a significantly increased risk than the general population.