Comparative assessment of cardiometabolic risk factors and anxiety-depressive symptoms in students of higher and secondary medical educational institutions

   Objective: to conduct a comparative assessment of cardiometabolic risk factors, anxiety and depression among students of primary and senior courses of medical university and medical college.

   Materials and methods: the study involved 281 students of the 1^st year, 169 students of the 6^th year of the medical university, as well as 166 students of junior courses and 98 students of senior courses of the medical college. A questionnaire was conducted among the respondents to identify cardiometabolic risk factors, a physical examination with an assessment of body weight, height, body mass index and blood pressure. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess the level of anxiety and depression. Statistical processing of the material was carried out using the SPSS 20.0 program.

   Results: it was found that among students of the 1^st year of the medical university, compared with students of the initial courses of the medical college, unhealthy diet and anxiety at the subclinical level are statistically significantly lower, the average systolic blood pressure is lower, and the prevalence of low physical activity, excessive salt intake, smoking and alcohol consumption is higher. When comparing senior students, smoking, alcohol consumption, excessive salt in the diet and unhealthy diet were statistically significantly less common among university students. In addition, it was found that students of the 1^st university year have an increased risk of depression in the presence of anxiety and abdominal obesity. In a group of the 6th university year students, the risk of anxiety and depression increases with excessive salt intake, decreases with excessive sugar intake. At the same time, an average academic score of ≥ 4.5 significantly reduces the risk of anxiety and depression among students, regardless of the course of study.

   Conclusion: the results of the study demonstrate the high importance of studying the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors among young people and subsequently developing targeted measures to prevent the occurrence of cardiometabolic diseases among students.

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