Cardiovascular Risk Perception and Knowledge among Italian Women: Lessons from IGENDA Protocol

Abstract

A multicenter, cross-sectional observational study (Italian GENder Differences in Awareness of Cardiovascular risk, IGENDA study) was carried out to evaluate the perception and knowledge of cardiovascular risk among Italian women. An anonymous questionnaire was completed by 4454 women (44.3 ± 14.1 years). The 70% of respondents correctly identified cardiovascular disease (CVD) as the leading cause of death. More than half of respondents quoted cancer as the greatest current and future health problem of women of same age. Sixty percent of interviewed women considered CVD as an almost exclusively male condition. Although respondents showed a good knowledge of the major cardiovascular risk factors, the presence of cardiovascular risk factors was not associated with higher odds of identifying CVD as the biggest cause of death. Less than 10% of respondents perceived themselves as being at high CVD risk, and the increased CVD risk perception was associated with ageing, higher frequency of cardiovascular risk factors and disease, and a poorer self-rated health status. The findings of this study highlight the low perception of cardiovascular risk in Italian women and suggest an urgent need to enhance knowledge and perception of CVD risk in women as a real health problem and not just as a as a life-threatening threat.

Gender Differences in Knowledge and Perception of Cardiovascular Disease among Italian Thalassemia Major Patients

“…Surprisingly, despite the high prevalence, the clear association with tissue iron overload, and the recognized value as a CVD equivalent, diabetes was one of the most underestimated CVRFs. These data are in accordance with previous surveys on the general population [21,41]. The knowledge of CVRFs was not influenced by gender and, unexpectedly, by the presence of CVRFs, not supporting the general belief that subjects with medical conditions have a greater understanding of the risk associated with these conditions.…”

“…The educational level did not emerge as a major determinant of knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk. Conversely, different studies conducted on the general population demonstrated a strong association between higher education and better health literacy [21,40]. The most likely explanation of our finding is that among the TM population, the frequent doctor-patient encounters represent the most important source of medical information, compensating for education-induced biases.…”

“…The questionnaire was previously validated in the general population [21]. It included three main parts.…”

“…Very few studies have addressed population awareness of CVDs in Europe, and a recent survey conducted on almost 5000 Italian women without hematological diseases showed that about 20% of women recognized the CVD as their greatest health problem, while tumors in general were cited in more than half of the cases [21]. Moreover, Italian women showed an awareness of CVDs as the leading cause of death (69.8%) higher than American (56%) [22] and Australian (32%) [23] women, and a good knowledge of the major CVRFs.…”

Teaching Gender Differences at Medical School Could Improve the Safety and Efficacy of Personalized Physical Activity Prescription

“…Moreover, several studies have shown that the perception of CV risk in women themselves has not changed, despite intense information and prevention campaigns ( 19 ). Sex-specific mechanisms in the pathophysiology of CV disease in women remain poorly understood.…”