Assessment of cardiovascular disease risk factors in an Iranian young population

Introduction: The study was carried out to assess the incidence of cardiovascular risk factors in an Iranian young population. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 137 students (42 male and 95 female, mean age: 21.99±1.54) of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences in Bandar Abbas, Iran from January 2008 to December 2009. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. Then height, weight, BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured on all participants. Blood sample was also taken for the measurement of glucose and lipid profile. Finally, the incidence rate of cardiovascular risk factors among students were analysed by Chi-Square, ANOVA and t-test. Results: It was observed that 21% of students (30 cases) expose at least one coronary artery disease risk factor. The prevalence of HDL, smoking, high total cholesterol, LDL, high body mass index, family history of early onset coronary heart disease, hypertension, inadequate physical activity and hypertension was 46.7%, 29.19%, 21.2%,19%, 17.5%, 14.6%, 10.9%,10.9%, respectively. There was no difference between sex and incidence rate of cardiovascular risk factors except hypertension. High blood pressure was more prevalent in men than women (P=0.01). Conclusion: This study showed that the cardiovascular risk factors are common in young population particularly of low HDL, smoking, and high total cholesterol. These findings imply that life style change should be considered via special training programs to decrease the high incidence rate of cardiovascular disease in the middle age.