Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors among Secondary School Students: A Review

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death worldwide. An estimated 17.5 million people died worldwide in 2012 due to CVDs, representing 31% of all global deaths. In Ghana, CVDs were responsible for 14% of institutional deaths. Risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke begin in childhood that develops in adulthood. The aim of this paper is to review CVD risk factors among secondary school students, prevalence and primary prevention of the disease. Methods: Detailed English-language literature search published between 2001 to present was conducted from Pub Med, Google Scholar and Cochrane library that identified ninety five published articles in exploring CVD risk factors among adolescent secondary school students. Eighty two of the papers were research articles from Ghana, Sudan, Congo, Nigeria, USA, UK, China, Canada, Turkey, Holland, and Poland, while thirteen were reports from World Health Organization (WHO), Institute of Medicine (IOM), Ghana Ministry of Health, and Ghana Health Service. Results: Most of the studies found that risk factors associated with CVDs among students included: physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, smoking, and alcohol. The studies also showed that these risk factors begin in childhood and accelerate during the adolescent age. These lead to overweight, obesity and hypertension and subsequently to CVDs in adulthood. Also, students are becoming hypertensive, though the condition was thought to affect people in their adulthood. Conclusion: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Ghana and worldwide, and risk factors of the disease are seen among secondary school students. Awareness and understanding risk factors could help public health professionals and the Ghana Health Service develop the appropriate interventions that will be targeted towards these populations.