Prevalence, risk awareness and health beliefs of behavioural risk factors for cardiovascular disease among university students in nine ASEAN countries

Karl Peltzer,Supa Pengpid

doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5142-1

Abstract

BackgroundUnderstanding behavioural risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is of great importance for CVD prevention and control. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence, risk awareness and health beliefs of behavioural risk factors of cardiovascular disease among university students in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states.MethodsIn a cross-sectional survey 8806 (37.5% male and 62.5% female) university students (Mean age 20.6, SD = 2.0) from nine ASEAN countries responded to an anonymous questionnaire.ResultsResults indicate that across all nine countries, among men and women, 27.5% and 16.9%, respectively, were overweight or obese, 39.0% and 53.0% engaged in low physical activity, 6.9% and 2.5% were current tobacco users, 10.1% and 4.2% had engaged in binge drinking in the past month and 62.7% and 58.2%, respectively, did not avoid eating fat and cholesterol. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, health status and health benefits, poor risk awareness was associated with tobacco use and binge drinking, and after adjusting for socio-demographic factors, health status and risk awareness, poorer health benefits beliefs predicted overweight, low physical activity, tobacco use, binge drinking and non-avoidance of fat and cholesterol.ConclusionThe study found a high prevalence of behavioural risk factors of CVD. Results may inform health promotion strategies among university students in ASEAN.

Highlights

Understanding behavioural risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is of great importance for CVD prevention and control
Among men 27.5% were overweight or obese, 39.0% engaged in low physical activity, 6.9%
Were current tobacco users, 10.1% had engaged in binge drinking in the past month and 62.7% did not avoid eating fat and cholesterol, while among women 16.9% were overweight or obese, 53.0% engaged in low physical activity, 2.5% had used tobacco in the past month, 4.2% had engaged in binge drinking in the past month and 58.2% did not avoid eating fat and cholesterol

Summary

Introduction

Understanding behavioural risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is of great importance for CVD prevention and control. Unhealthy diet, obesity, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol use have been recognized as the major behavioural CVD risk factors [2]. The presence of such modifiable CVD risk factors during emerging adulthood The prevalence of cardiovascular morbidity and its risk factors was found to be high in Southeast Asian countries [7], such as in Myanmar (9% angina and possible heart attack 7.5%) [8], Indonesia (smoking in men Peltzer and Pengpid BMC Public Health (2018) 18:237 explained a 25% of coronary heart disease and 17% of strokes [9], and in Malaysia

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