RESEARCH ARTICLE
Cardiovascular Risk Among University Students from Developed and Developing Nations
Barry E Bleske1, *, Steven R Erickson1, Sahar Fahoum2, Krishna R Devarakonda3, Lynda S Welage1, Marah Koudmani2, Narayan Pantham4, Stephanie B Edwin5, Siddhartha Devarakonda6, Michael J Shea7, Srinivas Martha8, Nabil Khalidi1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2011Volume: 5
First Page: 117
Last Page: 122
Publisher ID: TOCMJ-5-117
DOI: 10.2174/1874192401105010117
Article History:
Received Date: 2/4/2011Revision Received Date: 14/4/2011
Acceptance Date: 15/4/2011
Electronic publication date: 13/5/2011
Collection year: 2011
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background:
A key aspect in halting global increase in cardiovascular events is prevention and especially prevention at an early age. Unfortunately, global data regarding cardiovascular risk factors in the young are limited. Therefore the objectives of this study were to identify the most common cardiovascular risk factors among young adults in a university setting in both developed and developing countries.
Methods:
Lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors (smoking status, rates of physical activity, alcohol use, family history, blood pressure, fasting lipid panel, fasting blood glucose) were prospectively evaluated in young adults at three different university settings [University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, USA), University of Kalamoon (Deratiah, Syria), and Kakatiya University (Warangal, India)].
Results:
A total of 296 subjects (mean age and standard deviation 22 ± 3 years) were evaluated. Rates of current smoking were markedly higher (p < 0.001) in Syria (43%) compared with the USA (6.2%) and India (1.7%). Subjects in India were significantly (p < 0.001) less likely to engage in physical activity (20.2%) compared with the USA (90.7%) and Syria (68.8%). Fasting blood glucose levels and body mass index were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in Syria as compared to other countries. Significant differences were also noted in LDL, HDL, and triglycerides among the three sites.
Conclusions:
Cardiovascular risk factors among young adults in a university setting vary depending on global setting. Based upon the results of this study, targeted interventional programs based on risk findings from individual countries may be a reasonable future strategy to help reduce long term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
