Savage Matthew J, Procter Eleanor L, Hennis Philip, Price Alfie G, Magistro Daniele, James Ruth M
SHAPE Research Group, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.
University of Leicester Diabetes Research Centre, Leicester, UK.
BMJ Open. 2025 Apr 27;15(4):e089771. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089771.
The prevalence of adverse cardiometabolic health markers has increased substantially in UK young adults, and university students now make up a significant proportion of this population. Their health-related behaviours are poorer than age-matched normative data, and students' anthropometric outcomes deteriorate during their university career. The influence of university on cardiometabolic health markers is unclear, and men and students of Minoritised Ethnicity are often under-represented in student health research. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of adverse cardiometabolic health markers in undergraduate university students and assess differences between genders, ethnic groups and year of study.
Observational cohort study.
A higher education institution in Nottingham, UK.
Three independent cohorts of undergraduate university students (total n=1,299) completed five physiological tests and provided demographic information. One-way ANOVAs assessed differences between year of study and ethnic groups, and paired samples t-tests assessed differences between genders.
Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist to hip ratio (WHR), waist to height ratio (WHtR), blood pressure (BP) and glycated haemoglobin concentrations (HbA1c).
34.5% had overweight or obesity, 7.6% had a 'very high' waist circumference, 11.0% had a high WHR, 25.5% had a high WHtR, 12.7% were classified as hypertensive and 3.0% had an HbA1c ≥42 mmol/mol, indicating impaired glucose regulation. Differences between year groups were present for diastolic BP and HbA1c (p<0.01). Gender and ethnic group differences (p<0.05) were present for all variables other than BMI (gender) and diastolic BP (gender and ethnic group).
Overall, these data demonstrate the prevalence of adverse cardiometabolic health markers in UK undergraduate university students, highlighting differences between year groups, genders and ethnic groups. These findings should be considered when developing strategies to promote healthy lifestyles in higher education.
英国年轻成年人中不良心脏代谢健康指标的患病率大幅上升，大学生在这一人群中占相当大的比例。他们与健康相关的行为比年龄匹配的标准数据更差，而且学生的人体测量结果在大学期间会恶化。大学对心脏代谢健康指标的影响尚不清楚，少数族裔男性和学生在学生健康研究中往往代表性不足。本研究旨在确定本科大学生中不良心脏代谢健康指标的患病率，并评估性别、种族群体和学习年份之间的差异。
观察性队列研究。
英国诺丁汉的一所高等教育机构。
三组独立的本科大学生队列（共1299人）完成了五项生理测试并提供了人口统计学信息。单因素方差分析评估学习年份和种族群体之间的差异，配对样本t检验评估性别之间的差异。
体重指数（BMI）、腰围、腰臀比（WHR）、腰高比（WHtR）、血压（BP）和糖化血红蛋白浓度（HbA1c）。
34.5%的人体重超重或肥胖，7.6%的人腰围“非常高”，11.0%的人腰臀比高，25.5%的人腰高比高，12.7%的人被归类为高血压患者，3.0%的人糖化血红蛋白≥42 mmol/mol，表明血糖调节受损。不同年级组之间在舒张压和糖化血红蛋白方面存在差异（p<0.01）。除BMI（性别）和舒张压（性别和种族群体）外，所有变量在性别和种族群体方面均存在差异（p<0.05）。
总体而言，这些数据表明了英国本科大学生中不良心脏代谢健康指标的患病率，突出了不同年级组、性别和种族群体之间的差异。在制定促进高等教育中健康生活方式的策略时应考虑这些发现。
