Stress and cardiometabolic manifestations among Saudi students entering universities: a cross-sectional observational study

BMC Public Health

George P Chrousos³  Shaun Sabico⁴  Abdulmajeed Albanyan¹  Majed S Alokail⁶  Khalid M Alkharfy²  Omar S Al-Attas⁵  Abdulaziz Al-Othman⁶  Nasser M Al-Daghri⁵ 

[1] Preparatory Year, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;First Department of Pediatrics, Athens University Medical School, Athens 11527, Greece;Biomarkers Research Program, Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research Center, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

关键词: Perceived stress;    College life;    Students;    Saudi;    Cardiometabolic clustering;    Stress;   

Others  :  1131491
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-14-391

 received in 2013-10-08, accepted in 2014-04-15,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

In this observational study, we aimed to see whether transition in Saudi students entering university life could be a breeding stage for cardiometabolic risk factor emergence and clustering.

Methods

A total of 1878 apparently healthy Saudi students of the Preparatory Year, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA (1112 men and 766 women) spanning 2 academic years were included. They were divided into 2 groups based on the validated perceived stress test (PST). Anthropometrics were obtained and fasting blood samples were collected for measurement of fasting blood glucose and a lipid profile.

Results

PST score (>27) considered indicative of stress was noted in 44.4% of students. The prevalence of this score was higher in women than in men (49.7% versus 40.7%). The prevalence of obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia was significantly higher in men than women (p < 0.01), and this was even more apparent among stressed men, who had a significantly higher prevalence of all the above cardiometabolic factors than the non-stressed ones (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

Perceived stress is alarmingly high among Saudi students entering universities. This study sheds light on the social responsibility of universities in promoting a healthy lifestyle, particularly in this age group, when exposure to different kinds of stressors may result in body weight and metabolic changes.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Al-Daghri et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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