hyg-201403-0006 ArticleInAPeriodical 2014 Hygiena 59 3 110-115 HanákováMonika SovováEliška ZapletalováJana Analysis of Lifestyle of Medical Students: Is the Study Workload at the Medical Faculty Responsible for an Increase in Cardiovascular Risk Factors? Aim: The study aimed at analyzing the lifestyle of medical students in dimensions I (risk behaviors - nutrition, sleep, body weight, smoking, stress), II (leisure time, studies) and III (sports and physical activities), and comparing individual parameters in first- and fifth-year students. Methods: 90 first-year students and 90 fifth-year students participated in the research, the average age of the respondents was 19 and 23 years. A questionnaire was used to obtain important anamnestic data. Results: There were significantly more students with BMI≤18.5 kg.m<sup>-2</sup> in the first-year (14.4% vs. 2.2% in year 5, p=0.003). In the fifth-year, significantly more students had BMI between 25 and 30 kg.m<sup>-2</sup> (11.1% vs. 3.4% in year 1, p=0.003). Both female and male fifth-year students had significantly higher BMI than their female and male first-year counterparts (median 21.2 kg.m<sup>-2</sup> vs. 20.1 kg.m<sup>-2</sup>, p=0.001 and 23.7 kg.m<sup>-2</sup> vs. 22.4 kg.m<sup>-2</sup>, p=0.029, respectively). A total of 52.2% of fifth-year students and 23.9% of first-year students (p=0.002) increased their body weight in association with medical studies. First-year students feel stressed more often (78.9% vs. 38.4%, p&lt;0.001) and sleep for only 4-6 hours (31.1% vs. 17.8%, p&lt;0.001) but take regular medicines less often (17.8% vs. 55.6%, p&lt;0.001). They also have less leisure time (median 14 hours/week vs. 20 hours/week, p&lt;0.001) and significantly less regular weekly physical activity (41.1% vs. 58.9%, p=0.025) than students in the fifth-year. Significantly more fifth-year students drink coffee (81.1% vs. 63.3%, p=0.012), have experienced an anxiety attack associated with their medical studies (81.1% vs. 61.1%, p=0.005), and sleep regularly after returning from school (43.3% vs. 22.2%, p=0.004). More fifth-year students have their own experience with the use of antidepressants (10.0% vs. 1.1%, i.e. 1 student in year 1, p=0.018). Conclusions: Medical students have high incidence of some modifiable risk factors of cardiovascular diseases.