Predictors of diabetes risk perception among college students.

COLLEGE students; LIFESTYLES; CONFIDENCE intervals; ATTITUDE (Psychology); AGE distribution; TYPE 2 diabetes; RISK perception; HEALTH literacy; RISK assessment; QUESTIONNAIRES; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; STUDENT attitudes; JUDGMENT sampling; LOGISTIC regression analysis; ODDS ratio; BODY mass index; FAMILY history (Medicine); DISEASE risk factors

Objective: To explore the diabetes knowledge and future disease risk perception of college students. Participants: 697 college students were purposefully recruited at a large state university and completed an online survey. Methods: Diabetes knowledge, future disease risk perception, lifestyle, and demographic factors were assessed. Results: The majority of students (56%) reported a family history of diabetes but perceived their diabetes risk as low/moderate (90%). Logistic regression indicated higher knowledge (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01-1.13), age (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.00-1.16), bodymassindex (BMI) (OR, 4.90; 95% CI, 2.33-10.30) and family history of diabetes (OR, 4.30; 95% CI, 1.97-9.40) increased perception of future diabetes risk. Those who self-rated their health as good/excellent and read food labels regularly/often had lower perceived future risk of diabetes. Conclusions: Results highlight the importance of educating college students on diabetes risk factors as well as primary/secondary prevention for reducing diabetes incidence in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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