Knowledge of Metabolic Syndrome Among Third and Sixth Year Medical Students in Saudi Arabia

Background: Metabolic syndrome has become a public health challenge, and its prevalence is increasing among young adults. Little is known about the knowledge of medical students about this syndrome. The study aimed to assess the level of knowledge of the medical students about conditions relevant to metabolic syndrome.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered using a self-administered questionnaire to students in a medical college in Saudi Arabia. The survey was divided into four sections: diabetes, adiposity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. Students' responses were gathered and interpreted as adequate knowledge (81-100%), moderate knowledge (51-80%), and low knowledge (≤50%). Independent samples t-test and Chi-square tests were done to examine the association between students' knowledge with the academic year (third and sixth years). The level of significance was set at 0.05.

Results: There were a total of 224 respondents, 102 (46%) from the third year and 122 (54%) from the sixth year. More than 70% of students correctly identified symptoms, complications, and risk factors of diabetes, adiposity, and hypertension, and 90% were aware of different types of diabetes. There were some false beliefs held by students such as 91% of third-year students believed that fatigue is a frequent symptom of high serum cholesterol compared to 70% of sixth-year students (p <0.001). Likewise, 36% of students falsely identified liposuction as the best possible treatment in adiposity therapy. The sixth year of study and family history of hypercholesterolemia was found to be positively associated with a higher knowledge score for most categories.

Conclusion: The study concludes that the student's knowledge about conditions relevant to metabolic syndrome can be enhanced and preventative measures can be implemented to raise awareness about the syndrome.