Life Style Awareness of Medical students having parents /elderlies comorbid With Non communicable Disease

Abstract

Background: Medical students often follow unhealthy lifestyles due to academic stress, irregular sleep schedule increasing their risk of non-communicable diseases. Noncommunicable diseases- such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes are long term conditions having a multifactorial origin. Aim & Objective: To assess awareness and lifestyle practices among medical students with parents or elders suffering from noncommunicable diseases. Settings and Design:  A cross-sectional survey conducted among 185 medical students. Methods and Material: Sociodemographic variables, body mass index (BMI), eating habits, physical activity, sleep patterns, and substance use were recorded. The comorbidities assessed among parents and elders were hypertension, Type-II diabetes, coronary artery disease/stroke, osteoarthritis, liver/gall bladder diseases, and cancer/others Statistical analysis used: Crosstabulation and chi-square tests were used to identify associations, with p < 0.05 considered significant. Results: The majority of participants were female (62.7%) and aged 21–23 years. Most (71.9%) had a normal BMI. The most commonly reported comorbidities among parents/elders were hypertension (29.2%) and liver/gall bladder disease(21.1%). Statistically significant associations were found between comorbidities and midnight snacking(p=0.043) and sleep quality (p=0.018). There were no significant associations between parental comorbidity and dietary and physical activity variables. Conclusions: Despite being medical students, the students showed low lifestyle adherence, and parental noncommunicable disease status had limited influence on healthy behaviours. This highlights the need for targeted interventions for medical students, regardless of family history, to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice.