Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Aim: To evaluate the correlation between metabolic syndrome and risk factors of CVD among medical students. Methods: This retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Biochemistry, An anonymous self-administered questionnaire with 25 multiple choice questions composed for the purposes of this survey was answered by all 100 students were included in this study, as well as by 100 students on the day of their final graduation. Results: The proportion of women among 100 freshmen was 70% and among 100 graduating students it was 65%. A total of 72% freshmen knew their blood pressure (BP) but only 14% knew their total plasma cholesterol (TC). Of graduating students, 92% knew their BP (χ21 = 29.23; P < 0.001) and 40% their TC (χ21 = 41.10; P < 0.001). Only 15% of freshmen were smokers and 1% were past smokers, while 30% of graduating students were smokers and 5% were past smokers (χ22 = 26.52; P < 0.001). However, freshmen ranked AIDS second and CVD third and graduating students ranked CVD second and AIDS was significantly much less feared (P < 0.001, two-sided Fisher exact test). Freshmen perceived CVD as the leading cause of death and cancer and traffic accidents as the second. Graduating students significantly more often perceived CVD as the leading cause of death and significantly less often cancer and traffic accidents (P < 0.001). Significantly more graduating students than freshmen reported either good or partial knowledge of the last Joint European Guidelines on CVD Prevention (χ2 = 81.65, P < 0.001). Conclusion: We concluded that medical education on CVD prevention, at least in india, must be substantially improved and should include strategies to increase not only knowledge but also perception of modifiable risk factors for CVD and strategies to reduce or eliminate them. Particular attention has to be paid to increase students’ knowledge about obesity and low physical activity as important CVD risk factors, but also to the methods for increasing low HDL-cholesterol and smoking cessation.