Cardio-metabolic risk among undergraduate medical students of a selected Faculty of Medicine in Colombo

Abstract Introduction : Non-communicable diseases (NCD) are emerging in all ages, with cardio-metabolic diseases being a leading cause of morbidity and mortality.OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk among medical students of a selected Faculty of Medicine in Colombo.METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students (volunteered from all 5 batches) of the selected faculty. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Anthropometry and body composition were assessed. Blood pressure was measured and after a 12-hour-overnight-fast, blood was drawn for fasting blood glucose (FBG), lipid profile and two-hour oral glucose tolerance test.RESULTS: Final sample included 188 students (males=66). Mean (SD) age was 23.1yrs (1.7) and mean BMI 22.0 kg/m 2 (3.4). Prevalence of overweight was 35.1% (95%CI 28.3-41.9), obesity 5.9% (95%CI 2.5-9.3) and central obesity 16.9% (95%CI 11.5-22.3). 25.8% of males and 46.7% of females had abnormally high percentage body fat. Impaired FBG and impaired glucose tolerance were seen in 13.8% and 1.1% respectively. 25.4%, 12.2%, 31.6%, 5.3% had hypercholesterolemia, high LDL, low HDL and hypertriglyceridemia respectively. Consumption of alcohol was seen in 9%, low physical activity in 39.5%, sedentary life in 58%, low consumption of vegetables in 83.4% and low consumption of fruits in 86%. Males had higher rate of overweight/obesity (p=0.02), abnormal W/Height ratio (p=0.04), hypertriglyceridemia (p=0.06) while females had higher abnormal fat mass (p=0.005) and W/Hip ratio (p=0.000).CONCLUSIONS: Medical students (young adults) have high prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk, highlighting the importance of routine screening, proper health education and behaviour modification for these future doctors who should be role models of health.