Students' health habits and availability of primary prevention of arterial hypertension in the student population

Uvod: Zdravstvene navike predstavljaju način života, obično se uspostavljaju tokom rane mladosti i mogu se menjati tokom života. Na zdravstvene navike utiču zdravstveno stanje, stavovi pojedinca i zdravstveno ponašanje. Promenom rizičnog ponašanja kroz primarnu prevenciju može se smanjiti rizik od nastanka mnogih bolesti i prerane smrti u kasnijem periodu. Zdravi stilovi života obuhvataju dobro izbalansiranu i zdravu ishranu, svakodnevno vežbanje, odgovarajuću dužinu i kvalitet sna, pravilno upravljanje stresom, odsustvo upotrebe duvanskih proizvoda, alkoholnih pića i pića koja sadrže kofein. Nacionalni program prevencije, lečenja i kontrole kardiovaskularnih bolesti u Republici Srbiji do 2020. godine kao jednu od mera prevencije hipertenzije naveo je pored promena stilova života i ponašanja, bolju informisanost, edukaciju i podizanje nivoa svesti o povećanom riziku za razvoj hipertenzije, što je moguće postići istraživanjima ponašanja u vezi sa zdravstvenim navikama. Neophodno je posvetiti posebnu pažnju promociji zdravlja među populacijom studenata, jer dokazi ukazuju da su ponašanja i životni stilovi mladih problematični, a period studiranja kritičan za zdravstveni život mladih, jer se mnogi studenti suočavaju sa brojnim izazovima, naročito vezanim za promene u društvenoj i životnoj sredini. Prevalenca arterijske hipertenzije u populaciji odraslih u Republici Srbiji iznosi 33,2%, a poznato je da se arterijska hipertenzija može javiti i kod mladih osoba. Faktori rizika koji dovode do nastanka arterijske hipertenzije mogu biti ireverzibilni faktori rizika, kao što su: telesna građa, pol, uzrast, pozitivna porodična anamneza, genetska predispozicija. Potencijalno reverzibilni faktori rizika su gojaznost, upotreba duvanskih proizvoda, konzumacija alkohola, prekomeran unos soli, neadekvatne nutritivne navike, nedovoljna fizička aktivnost, materijalni status, nizak nivo informisanosti i obrazovanja. Ciljevi istraživanja su bili da se : (i) Ispita prevalenca određenih zdravstvenih navika u studenskoj populaciji i razlike u prevalenci u odnosu na način studiranja, studijski program, godinu studija i pol, kao reverzibilnih faktora koji doprinose nastanku arterijske hipertenzije; (ii) Istraži prevalenca upotrebe duvanskih proizvoda i ispitaju stavovi studenata u vezi sa njihovom upotrebom; (iii) Ispita zastupljenost određenih kategorija izračunatih kardiovaskularnih skorova u studentskoj populaciji u odnosu na socio-demografske karakteristike i odabrane zdravstvene navike; (iv) Ispitaju stavovi studenata u vezi sa uslugama javnog zdravlja u primarnoj prevenciji koje mogu biti dostupne u studentskim domovima. Metode i materijali: Sprovedene su tri studije preseka sa četiri namenski kreirana upitnika. Prva studija preseka (prevalencije) je uključila studente 30 fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu, sa ukupno 5% studenata upisanih 2013/14 godine na svakom od fakulteta. Sprovedena su dva uzorkovanja sa dva upitnika, tokom 2015 i 2016. godine...Introduction: Health habits are a way of life. They are usually established during early youth and can change throughout life. Health habits are influenced by health condition, health behavior and attitudes of an individual. By changing risky behavior through primary prevention, numerous diseases and premature death occurrence can be reduced in the later period. A healthy lifestyle includes a well-balanced and healthy diet, daily exercise, adequate length and quality of sleep, proper stress management, and not consuming tobacco, alcohol and caffeinated beverages. The National Programme for Prevention, Treatment and Control of Cardiovascular Diseases in the Republic of Serbia until 2020, as one of the measures for the prevention of hypertension, stated, in addition to changes in lifestyle and behavior, better information, education and raising awareness of the increased risk of hypertension, which could be achieved by behavioral research related to health habits. It is necessary to pay special attention to the promotion of health among student population, because the evidence indicates that their behavior and youth lifestyles are problematic, while the period of studying is critical for youngsters’ health because many students face numerous challenges especially those related to social and environmental changes. The prevalence of arterial hypertension in the adult population in the Republic of Serbia is 33.2%, and it is known that arterial hypertension can also occur in young people. The risk factors leading to arterial hypertension can be irreversible, such as body structure, gender, age, positive family anamnesis and genetic predisposition. Potentially reversible risk factors are obesity, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, excessive salt intake, inadequate nutritional habits, insufficient physical activity, material status, low level of information and education. Aim: The objectives of the research were: (i) To examine the prevalence of certain health habits in the student population and to identify the differences in the prevalence of certain health habits in relation to the model of studying, study programme, the year of studying and gender, as reversible factors contributing to the development of arterial hypertension; (ii) To examine the prevalence of tobacco use and students' attitudes towards them; (iii) To examine the prevalence of certain categories of calculated cardiovascular scores in the student population in relation to socio-demographic characteristics and selected health habits; (iv) To examine students' attitudes toward public health services in primary prevention that may be available in dormitories. Methods and materials: Three cross-sectional studies with four purpose-created questionnaires were conducted. The first cross-sectional study (the study of prevalence) included students from 30 faculties of the University of Belgrade, with a total of 5% of students enrolled in the year 2013/14 at each of the included faculties. Two samplings with two questionnaires were conducted, during the years 2015 and 2016..