B. Danielsson et H. Aberg, THE PUBLIC VIEW ON CARDIOVASCULAR RISK-FACTORS AND CHANGES IN LIFE-STYLE, Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 13(1), 1995, pp. 74-80
Objective - To investigate the public knowledge of cardiovascular risk
factors including hyperlipidaemia, and attitudes to changes in lifest
yle and to the role of the primary health care in preventive work. Des
ign - Postal questionnaire. Setting - A physically defined area in sou
th-western Stockholm. Subjects - 1000 randomly selected individuals of
both sexes 40 to 64 years, stratified into 5-year groups. Main outcom
e measures - Knowledge of and attitudes to cardiovascular risk factors
. Contact with the primary health care and expectancy of physicians' i
nterest in patients' lifestyles. Results - Response rate was 75%. The
awareness of cardiovascular risk factors was high, but only 51% knew w
hat constitutes healthy food, and two thirds doubted that they could c
hange their eating habits. Forty-eight percent had visited the primary
health care during the previous year. Eighty-four percent thought tha
t the physicians should know about their patients' smoking, 83% about
drinking habits, and 75% about eating habits. Physicians were expected
to spend 40% of their time on preventive work. Only 26% believed that
press information about hyperlipidaemia and heart disease did more go
od than harm. Conclusion - Knowledge was good about causative cardiova
scular risk factors, but poor about healthy eating. Physicians were ex
pected to have an interest in patients' lifestyle and in prevention. T
his type of knowledge is important for preventive work.