Successful modification of medical students' cardiovascular risk factors.

Abstract

Modifying identified risk factors for cardiovascular disease should change an individual's risk. Educational interventions might change behavior to modify some risk factors. To evaluate this possibility, we evaluated the health and fitness status of freshman medical students at the University of Utah (n = 89) in 1983 and determined their cardiovascular risk factors. During a preventive cardiology course later that year, students received their results. We reevaluated the students during their senior year using the same method. For both years, we obtained complete data on 77 (87%) of the eligible students. As freshmen 83% of these students had at least one modifiable risk factor, compared with 62% with a risk as seniors. The number of reevaluated students with low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low estimations of aerobic capacity, or both, decreased significantly (P = .009 and P = .0008, respectively). The preventive cardiology educational intervention may have changed behavior and improved cardiovascular risk factors.