Cukurova Medical Journal (Sep 2022)
Evaluation of cardiovascular disease risk factors knowledge level, Framingham score, and cardiac markers in a healthy population
Abstract
Purpose: The iam of this study was to assess the cardiovascular knowledge level of an educated and healthy population and determine how much they transferred it to daily life. In the current study, we first determined Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Factors Knowledge Level and Framingham score and investigated their relationship between pulse wave velocity (PWV) and laboratory parameters of healthy personal working for Cukurova University. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted via 192 participants who were selected from the study sample among healthy personnel working for Cukurova University. All participants' knowledge level was determined with the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Knowledge Level (CARRF-KL) scale and the 10-year risk for development of CVD determined by the Framingham risk score. PWV was also determined non-invasively by using an arteriography device. Blood samples were collected from all participants. Results: The mean age of all participants was 45.3 ± 8.0 years (53.6% woman). The mean CARRF-KL score of the participants was found as 20.4 ± 4.0 and the mean Framingham score was found 6.9±5.6. The average PWV was found 7.9±1.5m/sn. In correlation analyses, PWV was well correlated with both the mean CARRF-KL score and Framingham score. Participants who had the highest CARRF-KL score had also the highest Framingham score and PWV . Conclusion: Despite the high level of education and knowledge, it is seen that this knowledge is not reflected in daily lives in terms of CVD risk factors. Further studies are needed whether there is a threshold level of CVD knowledge that must be attained for knowledge to influence behavior and risk factor levels. For effective prevention, knowledge should be supported by behavioral counseling interventions.
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