[University students'’ cardiovascular risk factors and their relationship with body composition]

Assessing the prevalence of major risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a sample population of university students and their relationship with body composition.

A prevalence study was carried out on a random sample of 193 16 to 26 year-old university students (94 females and 99 males). Total cholesterol, high density lipoproteins (HDL), low density lipoproteins (LDL), triglycerides (TG) and glucose, resting blood pressure, waist circumference, height, weight and body fat and muscle mass percentages were measured. The participants answered a survey to assess their nutritional habits, lifestyle and stress.

The major cardiovascular risk factors for males were ≥100 mg/dl (60.6%) LDL-C, >20% (50.0%) body fat percentage (BF%) and <40 mg/dl (39.4%) HDL-C; female risk factors were >33% (63.0%) BF%, ≥100 mg/dl (39.4%) LDL-C and <50 mg/dl (91.5%) HDL-C. Both male (12.1%) and female students (21.3 %) had criteria for metabolic syndrome and males (19.2%) and females (27.7%) had a high atherogenic index of plasma (AIP). Significant correlations with body composition were found.

Cardiovascular risk factors had high prevalence in this sample of undergraduate students due to alterations in their blood, lipid profile and anthropometric changes, suggesting that modifications must be made regarding their lifestyles and body composition.