Prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors among Egyptian and Saudi medical students: a comparative study

Results from recent reports suggest that the mortality and the morbidity from coronary heart disease (CHD) is leveling, especially in younger adults. Studies conducted in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt, aiming at the estimation of the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among the young population, demonstrated a high prevalence of risk factors.

The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among medical students aged 18-25 years in two Middle East countries (Egypt and Saudi Arabia).

This was a cross-sectional comparative study involving a sample of 360 medical students of both sexes randomly selected from students enrolled into two medical colleges in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease was relatively high among both Saudi and Egyptian medical students, particularly a sedentary life style, obesity, and abdominal obesity. Smoking was practiced by 29.7% of both populations. A significantly higher prevalence of obesity and a reported family history of premature CHD were observed among the Saudi students and a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension was found among male Egyptian students as compared with male Saudi students. A relatively high proportion of both populations (23.9% of Saudi students and 16.7% of the Egyptian students) was at an increased risk of developing fatal cardiovascular disease within 10 years.

Apart from the higher prevalence of obesity and reported family history of premature CHD among the Saudi students and the significantly higher prevalence of hypertension among the Egyptian students, there was no statistically significant difference between the risk profiles of both populations. Participatory behavior change programs in medical schools for the adoption of healthy lifestyles, particularly involvement in regular physical activity and smoking cessation are highly recommended.