title: Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Lower Silesian Students of the Faculty of Medicine: Knowledge and Distribution.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cardiovascular disease is a major contributor to the global burden of disease. Further reduction of cardiovascular mortality will require multidirectional prevention. Popularizing prevention measures requires the involvement of qualified and well-educated personnel. Before any modifications of educational programs it is necessary to assess the level of knowledge of future physicians.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to evaluate medical students' knowledge of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. The paper presents the outcomes of a study investigating the knowledge of CV risk factors and the prevalence of those risk factors in the study population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted between 2007 and 2012 and the study population was comprised of 1406 students (497 men and 909 women) from South and South Western Poland. A survey designed by the authors, based on the Framingham survey, was used for the interviews.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The students correctly identified 4.38 ± 0.91 CV risk factors. The most frequently listed risk factors for cardiovascular diseases were a lack of physical activity and a fat-rich diet. The study participants who identified CV risk factors more or less accurately do not follow the recommendations aimed at prevention. Awareness, even relatively high awareness, does not correlate with a healthy lifestyle. Extreme examples of this are people who are aware of the negative effects of cigarette smoking but continue to smoke.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study revealed an insufficient level of awareness of CV risk factors among medical students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Dariusz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kałka
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Zygmunt
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Domagała
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Lesław
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rusiecki
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Bohdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gworys
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kolęda
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dąbrowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Szawrowicz-Pełka
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biełous
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Micał-Strąk
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Witold
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pilecki
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D011044:Poland; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: CVD risk assessment; CVD risk factors; risk factor awareness; young adults