Cardiovascular disease risk factors in the population of secondary school students in Ciechanów.
The aim of this paper was to determine the frequency of occurrence of cardiovascular disease risk factors among the secondary school students in Ciechanów. The study comprised 150 students attending high school, mechanical technical secondary school and a vocational school complex in Ciechanów (province of Mazovia). All the examined students were 17-18 years of age. The study was in the form of an auditory questionnaire. It was conducted in February 2002. To evaluate the state of students' nourishment we used the so-called body mass index (BMI). For the needs of this paper, to examine the amounts of alcohol consumed, the following conversion factor was used: standard portion = 10g pure ethanol. The results were analyzed in accordance with the sex of the examined persons. Among the examined students no cases of obesity or diabetes were found. One third of the polled persons had inherited susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases. 27.3% of the polled secondary school students smoke cigarettes every day (usually 5-10 a day). This fact increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The problem of alcohol abuse concerned 6% students, but only every tenth of them declared being a teetotaler. Three fourths of the polled persons regarded the level of their physical activity as moderate. About one third of the examined students accomplish their physical activity exclusively within Physical Education classes. The form of exercise done on their own most frequently was slow and brisk walking. The students usually nourish regularly, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. They eat fruit, cutting down on animal fats and salt. Most of the examined students are exposed to stressful situations, both in their home environment (56.6%) and at school (84.7%). Long-lasting and overlapping stress intensifies the risk of cardiovascular diseases. More than a half of the polled persons ascribe to themselves type A personality features, which makes them more susceptible to coronary heart disease, than type B personality.
Interfaculty Chair and Department of Public Health, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
Dorota
D
Zołnierczuk-Kieliszek
Anna
A
Pacian
Ewa
E
Kozłowska-Panek
D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires