Knowledge and Risk on Cardiovascular Diseases among College Students

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of mortality both globally and locally. According to the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) model, the level of individuals’ knowledge of CVDs may contribute to the persistence of these diseases and their impact on community health. This descriptive comparative study categorized 351 individuals, chosen through convenience sampling, into low, moderate, and high CVD risk by measuring their total cholesterol levels. Then, a validated questionnaire was employed to assess their level of knowledge of CVDs and compare it among the three CVD risk groups. After analyzing the gathered data, it was found that the majority of individuals (271) had low CVD risk, while 69 and 11 individuals had moderate and high CVD risks, respectively. To compare the level of knowledge of the respondents among the three risk groups on CVDs, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used, and it showed an F-value of 0.824 between groups and a p-value of 0.651, indicating that their differences in terms of knowledge were statistically insignificant. Thus, individuals have the same level of knowledge, regardless of their CVD risk. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made to serve as a basis for future studies. Future researchers may investigate the practices of individuals that may affect their CVD risk level. They may also utilize more parameters that will determine the CVD risk of individuals, like body mass index, glucose, HDL, and LDL levels. Additionally, they may create a predictive model including other factors, and determine which factor will most likely contribute to the development of CVDs in the future.