Population awareness of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in Buea, Cameroon

Abstract

BackgroundAdequate awareness of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and their risk factors may help reduce the population’s exposure to modifiable risk factors and thereby contribute to prevention and control strategies. There is limited data on knowledge among the general population in sub-Saharan Africa regarding CVD and risk factors. We aimed to assess the population awareness (and associated factors) of CVD types and risk factors in Buea, Cameroon.MethodsThis was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in 2016 among randomly selected adults (>18 years). Data on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge about CVD types, their risk factors and warning signs for CVD events (stroke and heart attack) were acquired using a self-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with moderate-to-good knowledge.ResultsOf the 1162 participants (61.7% women, mean age 32 years), 52.5% had overall poor knowledge (mean score 12.1 on total of 25) on CVD with only about a quarter correctly identifying types of CVD. Overall, 36, 63 and 45% were unaware of CVD risk factors, warning signs of heart attack and stroke respectively. In multivariable analysis; high level of education (aOR = 2.26 (1.69–3.02), p < 0.0001), high monthly income (aOR = 1.64 (1.07–2.51), p = 0.023), having a family history of CVD (aOR = 1.59 (1.21–2.09), p = 0.001) and being a former smoker (aOR = 1.11 (1.02–1.95), p = 0.043) were associated with moderate-to-good knowledge.ConclusionsThere exists a significant gap in population awareness about CVDs in Cameroon and this is similar to previous reports. Cost-effective community health education interventions taking into account socioeconomic status may be beneficial in this setting.

Public Knowledge of Risk Factors and Warning Signs for Cardiovascular Disease Among Young and Middle-Aged Adults in Rural Tanzania

“…As expected, participants with higher education level and with formal employment were more knowledgeable about risk factors and warning signs compared to their counterparts. Other studies have also reported a positive association between higher education level with good CVD knowledge [12,40,53,55,56]. Educated individuals have higher capabilities to comprehend information including health messages delivered through various mass media channels.…”

Cardiovascular Diseases’ Awareness Among Women in Northern Jordan

“…Lack of awareness of CVD and its risk factors among women was reported in many previous studies (Aminde et al, 2017;Awad & Al-Nafisi, 2014;Bunker et al, 2003;Fahs et al, 2017;Kaddumukasa et al, 2015;Mukattash et al, 2012;Obembe, Olaogun, Bamikole, Komolafe, & Odetunde, 2014). The evidence indicates that in women with better awareness of CVD and risk factors, modification of risk factors through change in lifestyle habits and behaviors such as smoking, physical inactivity and obesity has been achieved in higher pace and magnitude, in addition to improving attendance to health care services (Cobiac et al, 2012;Ebrahim et al, 2011;Eriksson, Franks, & Eliasson, 2009;Mozaffarian, 2017).…”

“…The evidence indicates that in women with better awareness of CVD and risk factors, modification of risk factors through change in lifestyle habits and behaviors such as smoking, physical inactivity and obesity has been achieved in higher pace and magnitude, in addition to improving attendance to health care services (Cobiac et al, 2012;Ebrahim et al, 2011;Eriksson, Franks, & Eliasson, 2009;Mozaffarian, 2017). Other studies have reported improved CVD outcomes with better awareness (Alam, Chowdhury, Siddiquee, Ahmed, & Niessen, 2014;Aminde et al, 2017;Boateng et al, 2017;Choi et al, 2010;Ebrahim et al, 2011;Eriksson et al, 2009).…”

“…Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) include diseases of the heart and blood vessels, and vascular diseases of the brain (Aminde et al, 2017;Mozaffarian, 2017). They are responsible for over 19.9 million deaths per year and are the leading causes of death worldwide (Aminde et al, 2017;Mozaffarian, 2017). CVD commonly occurs as the result of a combination of modifiable and non-modifiable risk factor.…”

“…Modifiable CVD risk factors include hypertension, tobacco use, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, poor diet, high serum triglycerides, low High -Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, abdominal obesity, high serum blood glucose, and insulin resistance/diabetes and non-modifiable risk factors are age, gender, and ethnicity (Aminde et al, 2017;Cobiac et al, 2012;Fahs, Khalife, Malaeb, Iskandarani, & Salameh, 2017). CVDs continue to rise mainly because preventive measures are inadequate, and rates of modifiable risk factors are increasing at unprecedented levels (Aminde et al, 2017;Fahs et al, 2017). It is widely accepted that a substantial proportion of CVD burden is preventable through reduction of modifiable risk factors.…”