Cardiovascular Risk Factor Knowledge and Behaviors Among Low-Income Urban Women in Mysore, India.

J Cardiovasc Nurs

Karl Krupp, PhD, MSc Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson; and Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysuru, India. Meredith L. Wilcox, MPH Analyst, Midwest Biomedical Research/Center for Metabolic and Cardiovascular Health, Addison, Illinois; and MB Clinical Research, Boca Raton, Florida. Arun Srinivas, MD Chief of Cardiology, Department of Cardiology, Apollo Hospital, Mysuru, India. Vijaya Srinivas, DGO Senior Research Physician, Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysuru, India. Purnima Madhivanan, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson; Department of Family & Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson; Division of Infectious Diseases, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson; and Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysuru, India. Elena Bastida, PhD Professor and Chair, Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Stempel College of Public Health, Florida International University, Miami.

Published: October 2021

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of death among women globally. Cardiovascular disease-related events are more common in older women compared with men and are more likely to result in death. Although research in high-income countries suggests that women have unique sociobiological CVD risk factors, only a few study authors have examined risk factor knowledge among women from low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess CVD risk factor knowledge among low-income urban Indian women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a nonprobability sample of 607 slum-dwelling women, 40 to 64 years old, living in Mysore, India, between October 2017 and May 2018. Participants underwent an interviewer-administered questionnaire measuring demographics, CVD risk factor knowledge, and medical history.

Results: Cardiovascular disease risk factor knowledge was low in this population and was associated with age, education, income, and caste. Approximately half of the participants (47%) answered less than 50% of the questions correctly, and a third had knowledge scores greater than 70%, which we defined as "good knowledge." Only 4 of 7 traditional CVD risk factors (ie, physical activity, smoking, overweight, and high cholesterol) were recognized by greater than half of the participants. The lowest knowledge levels were among older single women with no education and monthly household incomes less than Rs 3000 (approximately US $42).

Conclusions: Previous research among slum dwellers in India reported a high prevalence of modifiable CVD risk factors compared with more affluent urban peers. Interventions aimed at CVD risk factor knowledge may be an important first step in controlling heart disease in this vulnerable population.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7438232PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JCN.0000000000000657DOI Listing

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