Estilo de vida de jovens universitários da área de saúde e o desenvolvimento de doenças cardiovasculares

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are responsible for 31.3% of deaths, in Brazil, causing great socioeconomic damage by reaching part of the population at full productivity. This happens because cardiovascular dysfunctions are caused by unhealthy lifestyles (behavior patterns), acquired during childhood and aggravated during youth. The population of university students in the health areas has high social and public health concerns because they concentrate a representative part of the population that will respond to current and future health care. This research focused to analyze the healthy lifestyle of university students in health area, as well as to describe the sociodemographic, behavior, psychological and clinical found variables and to indicate which healthy lifestyle variables suggest cardiovascular health vulnerability. It was a cross-sectional, descriptive-quantitative study composed by 411 students between 18 and 28 years old who answered to a semi-structured interview and the Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventory (BAI and BDI). There was a predominance of females (68.61%), singles (90.75%), with predominance of Brazil’s North region (85.07%). The healthy lifestyle evaluation showed that 48.91% of college students were classified as unhealthy healthy lifestyle, and the excessive alcohol consumption, poor sleep quality, sedentary lifestyle, inadequate body mass, and tobacco cigarettes and drugs were factors that caused academics cardiovascular health vulnerabilities. The existence of correlation of anxiety and depression levels with the healthy lifestyle, a differential aspect of this research, it is suggested interventions in the mental health field to fully protect the health of these youngsters.