Prevalence of perceived stress and its associations with anthropometric and metabolic variables of cardiovascular risk in a young university population

Objective: to characterize perceived stress using a validated scale and evaluate its associations with anthropometric and metabolic variables. Methods: this is an observational, cross-sectional, one-point study. Participants were recruited using non-probability sampling of university students. Results: the scale was successfully validated with a total of 1,033 participants, 495 men and 538 women. It was found that the entire sample studied presented some level of perceived stress; in men, 4.5 % fell into the low stress category, 85.0 % into moderate stress, and 10.5 % into high stress. In women, 2.8 % fell into the low stress category, 80.1 % into moderate stress, and 17.1 % into high stress; 63.1 % of men had normal weight and 36.9 % were overweight/obese; in women these percentages were 68.3 % and 31.7 %, respectively. A low prevalence of anthropometric and metabolic dysfunctions was observed in both sexes. No associations were found between the variables evaluated and the level of perceived stress except for the amount of skeletal muscle in men. Conclusion: the prevalence of stress in the studied population is alarming since it is known that this mental disorder contributes to the development of various comorbidities, the associations with skeletal muscle in men may be due to hormonal effects on this tissue caused by the perception of stress.