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. 2012 Jun;53(3):278-84.
doi: 10.3325/cmj.2012.53.278.

The perception and knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors among medical students

Željko Reiner  1 , Zdenko Sonicki, Eugenia Tedeschi-Reiner
Affiliations

The perception and knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors among medical students

Željko Reiner et al. Croat Med J. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Aim: To assess perceptions, knowledge, and awareness of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among medical students (freshmen and graduating students).

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey based on an anonymous self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 2008 on 443 medical students - 228 freshmen on their enrollment day and 214 students on the day of their final exam at the University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Croatia.

Results: The perception and knowledge of some CVD risk factors, eg, dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, and metabolic syndrome as well as of lipid-lowering therapy important for CVD prevention was significantly better among graduating students but was still not sufficient. Only 66% of graduating students reported that they would prescribe lipid-lowering therapy to high risk patients. Disappointingly, many graduating students were smoking (30.4%) and had low-awareness of obesity as an important CVD risk factor.

Conclusion: These results suggest an urgent need to improve medical students' knowledge of obesity and low physical activity as important CVD risk factors and of the methods for increasing low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and for smoking cessation. All this provides a rationale for modifying the university core curriculum to include more information concerning these issues.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Knowledge about the risk rank among freshmen (closed bars) and graduates (gray bars) (the smaller the bars the higher the rank).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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