Department of Medicine, Diagnostic Centre, University Research Clinic for Innovative Patient Pathways, Silkeborg Regional Hospital, Silkeborg, Denmark.
Department of Vascular Surgery, Viborg Regional Hospital and Institute of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Clin Epidemiol. 2014 Feb 15;6:81-7. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S53706. eCollection 2014.
In general, it is assumed that patient education, by increasing knowledge, may change behavior and lifestyle and promote health. In this context, it is a surprise that knowledge and awareness about blood pressure and hypertension among elderly people is poor. We hypothesized that knowledge about blood pressure and hypertension would be better among individuals with self-reported hypertension compared with subjects without self-reported hypertension.
We mailed a questionnaire to a random sample of 1,000 subjects living in the municipality of Silkeborg, Denmark. The study sample was drawn from the Central Person Registry.
The response rate was 72%. Of these, 43% of responders had self-reported hypertension. The people with self-reported hypertension were older, less educated, had higher self-reported blood cholesterol levels, had higher body weight, and more often had a family history of hypertension. More than 80% reported that overweight and obesity increases blood pressure. More than 60% reported that untreated hypertension may cause heart disease or stroke. More than half of the responders did not know their blood pressure, and only 21% knew that hypertension can occur without symptoms. Knowledge about hypertension was independent of self-reported hypertension status, but awareness about blood pressure was most prominent among those with self-reported hypertension.
General knowledge about blood pressure and hypertension was reasonable, but there is still room for improvement in elderly people's knowledge and awareness of blood pressure.
一般来说，人们认为通过增加知识可以改变行为和生活方式，从而促进健康。在这种情况下，老年人对血压和高血压的知识和认识较差令人惊讶。我们假设，与没有自述高血压的人相比，自述有高血压的人对血压和高血压的知识会更好。
我们向丹麦锡尔克堡市的 1000 名随机抽样对象邮寄了一份调查问卷。研究样本取自中央人员登记处。
回复率为 72%。其中，43%的应答者自述有高血压。自述有高血压的人年龄较大，受教育程度较低，自述血胆固醇水平较高，体重较高，且更经常有高血压家族史。超过 80%的人报告超重和肥胖会增加血压。超过 60%的人报告未经治疗的高血压可能导致心脏病或中风。超过一半的应答者不知道自己的血压，只有 21%的人知道高血压可能无症状。高血压知识与自述高血压状况无关，但对血压的认识在自述有高血压的人中最为突出。
一般来说，人们对血压和高血压的知识是合理的，但老年人在血压知识和认识方面仍有改进的空间。
