Coronary heart disease risk factors: prevalence and behavior among male university students in Dammam City, Saudi Arabia

Smoking, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus are the common risk factors among patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). High dietary fat intake, smoking, and lack of physical exercise have all been documented as independent risk factors for the development of CHD. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of CHD risk factors among King Faisal University (KFU) male students in Dammam city, Saudi Arabia. A sample size of 10% of the target population (2054 male students of KFU colleges) was selected comprising 205 students. The study sample was selected by a multistage stratified random sampling technique with proportional allocation from all class levels. The response rate was 77.6%, where a total of 159 students were included in the study. Data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, which included sociodemographic variables and risk factors for CHD. The following measurements were performed: weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), blood pressure, and random capillary blood glucose. It was found that 28.9% of the university students do not practice any type of physical exercise. About 19% of the students were current smokers. A high proportion of university students were consuming fast foods, saturated fats, and soft drinks. Overweight (24.5%), obesity (11.9%), severe obesity (10.7%) as measured by BMI, as well as unacceptable WHR (10.7%) as an indicator of obesity were evident. Family history of obesity and unacceptable WHR were found to be statistically associated with increased obesity. Therefore, intervention programs to raise the health awareness of adolescents about CHD risk factors and encourage them to adopt a healthy dietary behavior, promote physical exercise and smoking cessation should be initiated.