Volume 25, Issue 113, July 2021

Is hypercholesterolemia adequately covered in medical schools? A cross-sectional study on knowledge levels among Saudi medical students

Saud Alrashoud^1♦, Sulaiman Alfouzan¹, Fayez Alshehri¹, Mohammed Almutawa¹, Faisal Alsharif¹, Rakan Alfouzan², Alwaleed Albadi¹, Mohammad Alshammri³

¹Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
²Fifth Year Medical Student, College of Medicine, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
³Consultant Cardiologist, Internal Medicine Department, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is essential to performs several functions in the body. Hypercholesterolemia is a term prescribing the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. CHD is the most common cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The goal of this research is to assess knowledge levels regarding hypercholesterolemia and its complications among medical student in Riyadh. Methods: Cross-sectional study design by using an anonymous questionnaire distributed in soft copy to a sample of 417 medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questions are based on the basic principles and knowledge that a person should know about hypercholesterolemia. The questions were simple and direct to remove any biases in conducting the survey and rule out any blank or false answers. Results: The study sample included 417 medical students (42%) females and 58 % males). The majority of the participants were Saudi (99.3%). (44.8%) of students’ family members had cholesterol history. (61.3%) reported that they did not know about the level of triglyceride. (57.6%) reported that they did not know about the level of LDL. Conclusion: Our survey shows there is a lack of knowledge about normal range of cholesterol levels. There is a visible lack of knowledge regarding cholesterol-related cardiovascular complications, even though the majority of our sample reported a positive family history of hypercholesteremia. Future research should focus more about ways to increase the knowledge about cholesterol normal levels and complications and how does it relate to family history.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia, Medical Student, Knowledge, Medical Education, Hypercholesterolemia, Knowledge

Medical Science, 2021, 25(113), 1765-1773

PDF