Cardiovascular Risk Profiles Of Collegiate Undergraduate Students

Abstract

INTRODUCTION In 2001, leading causes of death in the US were: diseases of the heart (700,142), malignant neoplasms (553,768) and cerebrovascular accidents (163,538)1. In younger adults (age 25–44), heart diseases were ranked as the third leading cause of death, behind accidents and malignant neoplasms.3 Chronic diseases have many underlying causes and a recent meta-analysis indicates that the most common underlying causes of death are tobacco use, poor diet and physical inactivity.2 Smoking was found to be the leading underlying cause, however poor diet and physical inactivity may soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of death. PURPOSE To determine the prevalence of various risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease among an ethnically diverse population of undergraduate college students in the southeast United States. METHODS Students enrolled in an elective physical education course were invited to participate in this survey. Students were interviewed and assessed individually to determine the presence of the following seven risk factors: cigarette smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obesity, family history of heart disease, and a sedentary lifestyle. Definition of the thresholds for these risk factors was based on the ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing & Prescription 6th Edition.4 RESULTS Ninety-four students participated; their gender (22% male, 78% female), age (mean = 26.14, ± 8.75, range 17–56) and ethnicity (52% African American, 33% White, 10% Asian/Pacific Islander, 5% multiracial) mirrored that of the University. The most prevalent risk factors were: a sedentary lifestyle (61.7% compared to 52.8% nationwide and 57.6% state-wide) and obesity (29.8% compared to 22.8% nationwide and 25.2% state-wide). In addition 32.98% were overweight (BMI 25–29.9 kg/m2). Over 46% of this cohort had a BMI above the 85thpercentile for persons aged 20–29 years (i.e. NHANESII). This was in stark contrast to findings in the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (1995) which found only 20.5% of college students overweight.6 Surprisingly, there was a low incidence of tobacco use (8.5% current smokers) among this self-selected population of students compared to nationwide and Georgia rates (22% and 23.2% respectively). CONCLUSIONS Among a cohort of college students, overweight/obesity and a sedentary lifestyle appear to be the leading cardiovascular risk factors. These are inherently modifiable risk factors.