| Many young adults in the United States are often unrealistic or uninformed about their health and eating habits. One-third of this population is unaware of the association between their current health behaviors and the impact on cardiovascular disease risk in the future. This is despite literature that suggests plaque formation begins in young adulthood. The purpose of this dissertation was to assess the general knowledge and perception (perceived susceptibility and perceived severity) among a college population of young adults regarding cardiovascular risk factors and to screen for individual cardiovascular risks. A descriptive research study was conducted in 158 college students between the ages of 19 to 39, who were attending a university in the Midwest. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables. Spearman correlations were used to examine associations between variables. Hierarchical clustering analysis was used to identify the subgroups for similar characteristics. The average age of the participants was 24.33 +/- 4.61 years old. Just over half of the participants were male (n = 72, 54.4%), white ( n = 99, 63.1%), single (n = 131, 82.9%), and had insurance coverage (n = 146, 93.0%). Overall, knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors were positively associated with the 10-year (lifetime) risk estimates (p = .17, p = .048) while perception of cardiovascular risk factors were positively associated with the 30-year full cardiovascular risk estimates (p = .16, p = .048). This group of college students had a high knowledge level of cardiovascular risk factors; however, they do not perceive themselves at risk for cardiovascular disease. Nonetheless, no significant relationships were found between knowledge and perception of cardiovascular risk factors (p = .191). The clustering technique identified the following as a high risk group: white, single males with a family history of heart disease, overweight/obese, having hypertension, and eating red meat every week (occasionally), to be targeted in an intervention to help reduce cardiovascular risks. This study has demonstrated that having high knowledge level of cardiovascular risk factors is insufficient to promote an optimal cardiovascular risk profile, but changing perception of cardiovascular risk factors may play a bigger role in long-term cardiovascular risks. |
