Behavioral Risk Factors of Noncommunicable Diseases Among Medical and Nonmedical Undergraduate Students of Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Background and aims: Behavioral risk factors of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are establishedduring early age and continued into adulthood. In Bangladesh, the scenario of NCD risk factors amongstudents was inadequately studied. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the prevalence ofbehavioral risk factors of NCDs between undergraduate medical and nonmedical students.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among ۲۸۰ undergraduate students (equal numberof students from medical and nonmedical backgrounds). Respondents were selected purposively from۵ purposively-selected institutions. Modified WHO STEPS instrument was used for data collection.Respondents were asked about their behavioral risk factors (tobacco use, insufficient fruit andvegetable intake, inadequate physical activity, and alcohol consumption) by face-to-face interviews.Results: Men students were more in both groups. The mean age of the medical and nonmedicalstudents was ۲۲.۱±۲.۰ and ۲۱.۸±۱.۹ years, respectively. Tobacco use was more among nonmedicalstudents than that among the counterpart (۲۲.۱% vs. ۱۵.۷%). Medical students were more used totake insufficient fruits and vegetables compared to nonmedical students (۹۷.۹% vs. ۹۳.۶%). Equalproportions (۷۱.۴%) of students in both groups were used to perform inadequate physical activity.Alcohol consumption was observed more among nonmedical students (۱۲.۹% vs. ۸.۶%).Conclusion: Behavioral risk factors of NCDs were remarkable among students of both groups, mainlyamong nonmedical students.

کلیدواژه ها:

Behavioral risk factors ، Noncommunicable diseases ، Undergraduate students ، Bangladesh