Syrians' awareness of cardiovascular disease risk factors and warning indicators: a descriptive cross-sectional study
Sarya Swed 1, Hidar Alibrahim 1, Haidara Bohsas 1, Wael Hafez 2 3, Mohammed Amir Rais 4, Sheikh Shoib 5 6, Ebraheem Albazee 7, Mohamed E G Elsayed 8 9, Bisher Sawaf 10, Amr Farwati 10, Mohammed Najdat Seijari 10, Naim Battikh 11, Nour Shaheen 12, Nafeth Ibrahem 13, Ahmad Alsaleh 13, Ka Yiu Lee 14, Amine Rakab 15
Affiliations
Affiliations
- Faculty of Medicine, Aleppo University, Aleppo, Syria.
- NMC Royal Hospital, 16th Street, Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
- Medical Research Division, Department of Internal Medicine, The National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
- Faculty of Medicine of Algiers, University of Algiers, Algiers, Algeria.
- JLNM Hospital, Rainawari, Srinagar, India.
- Directorate of Health Services, Srinagar, J&K, India.
- Kuwait Institute for Medical Specializations, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, University of Ulm, Leimgrubenweg 12-14, 89075, Ulm, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
- Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, USA.
- Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
- Faculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
- Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden. Kyle.lee@miun.se.
- Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha, Qatar.
Abstract
The awareness of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) contributes to the complications and fatality rates from these diseases among individuals; however, no previous study in Syria was conducted on this topic; thus, this study aims to assess Syrians' awareness of CVDs warning symptoms and risk factors. This online cross-sectional study was performed in Syria between the 1st and 25th of August 2022. The inclusion criteria for the sample were citizens of Syria over 18 who currently reside in Syria. The questionnaire included open- and closed-ended questions to assess the awareness of CVDs. A total of 1201 participants enrolled in the study with a response rate of 97.2%; more than half of the participants (61.4%) were aged 18-24. The most recognizable risk factors and warning signs when asking close-ended and open-ended questions were smoking (95.2%, 37.1%) and chest pain (87.8%, 24.8%), respectively. Overall knowledge scores for risk factors and warning signs were (61.5%). Regarding knowledge score of CVDs risk factors and warning signs, participants aged 45-54 scored higher than other age groups, and respondents with a university education level had a higher score than other educational levels (15.7 ± 0.3), (14.5 ± 0.1), respectively. Participants aged 45-54 have a higher probability of good knowledge of CVDs risk factors and warning signs than participants aged 18-24 (OR = 4.8, P value < 0.001), while participants living in the countryside were less likely to have good knowledge of CVDs risk factors and warning signs than city residents (OR = 0.6, P value < 0.05). According to our results, there is inadequate knowledge of the risk factors and warning signs of CVDs. Consequently, there is a greater need to raise CVD awareness and learning initiatives on the disease's risk factors and symptoms.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no competing interests.
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