Tobacco smoking vs. lipid profile and anthropometric measures: A cross-sectional study among students in the Riyadh College of Health Sciences

Smoking represents the most readily preventable risk factor for morbidity and mortality. The present work aimed at studying the frequency of smoking among Saudi college students and its relation to dyslipidemia and malnutrition. The study was carried out on the students of the Riyadh College of Health Sciences, from September 2006 to December 2008. 474 male students participated in the present study. All subjects answered a self-administered questionnaire which consisted of socio-demographic data. Anthropometric measurements and laboratory analysis of lipid profile were measured. The frequency of smoking among male college students was 38.19%. Triglyceride level was higher while anthropometric measures were lower, among smokers. There was positive correlation between total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides from one side and anthropometric measures on the other side. There is a high frequency of smoking among college students. The smokers have high lipid profile and low anthropometric measurements. Three fourth of the smokers have a strong desire to quit smoking.