Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and serum lipid profile among medical students in Greece

Background: The lack of data regarding health habits of medical students in Greece prompted a cross-sectional study to assess tobacco use, alcohol consumption and serum lipoprotein levels among students in the University of Crete School of Medicine. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire on smoking and alcohol consumption was distributed to third-year medical students for twelve consecutive years (1989-2000). A total of 849 students (462 males, 387 females) participated in the survey. Biochemical measurements were taken and multi-variant analysis of the data was performed. Results: The prevalence of smoking among males and females was 33.2% (N = 150) and 28.4% (N = 108), respectively (mean cigarette consumption 13/day). As many as 349 males (77.2%) and 220 females (58.0%) reported consuming alcohol on a regular basis. The prevalence of low HDL-cholesterol (<0.9 mmol/l) was 14.5% in males and 5.1% in females, and of high LDL-cholesterol levels (>4.1 mmol/l) in 11.1% of male and 5.5% of female participants. Smoking was related to higher triglyceride (p = 0.032), and lower HDL-cholesterol (p = 0.037) serum levels. Total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and the TC/HDL-cholesterol ratio were strongly related with the level of smoking (p = 0.006, p = 0.008, and p = 0.006 respectively). Conclusions: The results document a high prevalence of smoking among physicians-to-be in Greece. Tobacco use was strongly associated with a lipid profile predisposing to increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Health promotion programmes should therefore be instituted not only during the first years of medical studies, but rather at a much earlier stage in life.