[Smoking and other risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, connected with arteriosclerosis among youth].

The World Health Organization (WHO) conference on a "second wave" epidemic of cardiovascular diseases connected with arterial sclerosis (AS) foresee that in 2020 cardiovascular diseases will most likely be the leading cause of death in the world. The development of AS begins in youth and progresses with age. It's intensity depends on the risk factors involved, such as: smoking, hypertension, obesity and fat and sugar disorder in a body. Many of these risk factors, manifesting themselves as diseases in adults, can be found during adolescence. The aim of this study was to establish the spread of smoking and other risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, like: hereditary and increasing incidence hypertension and body mass index (BMI), among youth of upper gymnasium school in Podkarpacie. The research was conducted between November 2007 and March 2008, using 193 volunteer students from upper and lower gymnasium schools, aged between 16-20 years. Our research methods included: diagnostic questionnaire, measurement of blood pressure (BP) through the use of sphygmomanometer, as well as anthropometric measurements including high, weight and body mass estimation. BP was established by obtaining an average between two measurements taken under normal conditions. The results were statistically analyzed, in with the in dependent test chi-Parson square, the level of changes a = 0.05--was used. The research showed that 23.31% of respondents smoke, that's 64.44% girls, and 35.56% boys. 12.41% of the girls and 15.09% of boys smoke on regular basis. And 8.57% girls and 15.09% boys smoke from time to time. More than half of young smokers (51.10%) smoked for longer than 2 years, and the initiations of smoking starts at the age of 15 (26.67%) and the age of 16 (26.67%). 10 and more cigarettes a day smoke 26.67% of boys and 13.79% girls. 75.74% of respondents agree that they are victims of passive smoking. Through 17.61% of respondents (mostly boys 64.70%) we found increasing incidence of hypertension, and 82.35% were related to systolic BP. In the group of people with higher BP systolic hypertension demonstrated itself in 35.72% of positive cases, while diastolic hypertension related to 16.66% of the population and was present mainly among adolescence girls. Most of respondents with higher systolic (75.00%) and diastolic (83.00%) BP were found to be present in those with an obesity problem (50.00%, 10.00%) than in those with correct BMI (12.91%, 5.81%).Hereditary risk factors of AS, from father side, was found among 33.67% of respondents, and mother side, through 23.31% of respondents. Through respondents parents we found quite often: hypertension (fathers 18.65%, mothers 10.36%) and overweight and obesity (fathers 15.03%, mothers 13.99%) also through fathers we found hiperlipidemia (14.51%). Through mothers only, we found cases of diabetes (2.07%) but we didn't find heart stroke cases, which were found through fathers only (2.07%). Among respondents, 43.52% cases, we found one of risk factor of AS and more than half of respondents (56.48%) we found co -existence of 2 and more factors, including: 30.57%--2, 19.18%--3, 5.70%--4, 1.03%--5 risk factors. Through all respondents we found the existence of at least one of the risk factor of AS and through more than half of them, co-existence of two and more risk factors. Hereditary (33.67%--father side, 23.31%--mother side) and smoking (23.31%) were the common risk factors of AS in youth. An increase of hypertension and an increase incidence of BMI were present in (17.61%, 12.43%) respondents.