Many College Students Underestimate Diabetes Risk

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Nutrition Science
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• College students develop lifelong health habits, increasing type 2 diabetes risk.
• Universities are key for diabetes awareness and nutrition education.
• It remains unclear if high-risk students perceive their future diabetes likelihood.

Purpose of the Study:

• Assess personal risk perception in multiracial college students with diabetes risk factors.
• Identify characteristics of students with unrealistic future diabetes risk perception.

Main Methods:

• Collected self-reported health and behavior data from 1,579 students at three urban colleges.
• Categorized 541 high-risk students into realistic or unrealistic risk perception groups.
• Examined group characteristics using multivariate logistic regression.

Main Results:

• 61% of high-risk students perceived increased diabetes likelihood; 39% did not.
• Under-estimators were more likely to be male, lack family diabetes history, and be foreign-born.
• Statistical significance noted for male gender (p=0.010), no family history (p=0.029), and foreign birth (p<0.001).

Conclusions:

• Unrealistically optimistic high-risk students may forgo preventive actions.
• Heightened diabetes risk awareness and tailored health education are crucial for young adults.
• Developing effective behavior change models for young adults is a pressing need.