Organised by
Organised by
Excessive dietary salt intake is a major public health concern linked to various health risks, including hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. As future healthcare professionals, medical students must adopt and promote good dietary salt intake practices.
This study aimed to identify factors associated with good dietary salt intake practices among medical students at a public university.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among first- to fifth-year medical students at UPM using universal sampling. Data were collected using a validated online questionnaire, adapted from the Ministry of Health’s guidelines, with good reliability (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.732). Ethical approval was obtained before study commencement. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with good dietary salt intake practices.
A total of 364 medical students participated, with a mean age of 22±2 years. The majority were female (66.2%), Malay (54.2%), and clinical-year students (50.3%). Overall, 55.4% of respondents demonstrated good dietary salt intake practices. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed significant associations with being non-Malay versus Malay (aOR=1.93, 95% CI: 1.22-3.05, p=0.005), being in clinical years versus pre-clinical years (aOR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.30-3.24, p=0.002), and having a higher attitude score towards dietary salt management (aOR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.24-1.86, p<0.001).
More than half of UPM medical students practiced good dietary salt intake. Targeted educational interventions are needed for Malay students, pre-clinical students, and those with less favorable attitudes towards salt management.
2024 Malaysian Society of Hypertension All Right Reserved