High-Risk Behaviors in Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study from Tehran, Iran

Background: Policy-makers in the Ministry of Health Care and Medical Education need to have knowledge concerning high-risk behaviors among medical students in order to have positive changes in the educational system of universities of medical sciences. Objectives: To enquire into the prevalence of high risk behaviors among medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students in one of the largest medical universities in Tehran, Iran. A total of 275 medical students participated in the study. They filled out a self-developed questionnaire that covered both demographic characteristics and items on eight main risk domains including safety, violence, depressed mood, physical activity, nutrition, smoking, alcohol consumption, and substance abuse. Results: A total of 275 students (55.3% male, mean age: 23.7 ± 4.3 years) took part in the study. Approximately, 38% of the subjects reported less than 30 minutes of low intensity physical activity during the preceding week. Obesity and overweight were seen in 24.4% of the participants. Around 8% of the students had body mass index (BMI) values below 18 kg/m². Daily smoking during the past month was reported by 10.5%. A total of 29 students (10.2%) mentioned drinking alcohol during the past month. Sense of depression and hopelessness were reported by 26.6% of students. A total of 5.5% had seriously considered committing suicide, with 3.6% who had actually attempted, with some doing it more than once. Conclusions: In this study, physical inactivity, obesity/overweight, and depressed mood were more frequent. Smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse were more prevalent among male students.