Alves Elisabete, Costa Ana Rute, Moura-Ferreira Pedro, Azevedo Ana, Lunet Nuno
a EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública , Universidade do Porto , Porto , Portugal.
b Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica , Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto , Portugal.
Blood Press. 2018 Aug;27(4):194-199. doi: 10.1080/08037051.2018.1430503. Epub 2018 Jan 24.
Adequate knowledge on hypertension has been shown to improve awareness, adherence to treatment and control of the disease. We aimed to estimate the health-related knowledge about hypertension among the Portuguese population.
A representative sample of Portuguese-speaking dwellers in mainland Portugal (n = 1624), aged 16 to 79 years, was evaluated through face-to-face interviews conducted using a structured questionnaire. Health literacy was evaluated using the instrument Newest Vital Sign.
The mean prevalence of hypertension in the Portuguese population estimated by the participants in this study was 45.4%. Salt intake and poor diet were reported as main causes of hypertension by 27.5% and 21.5% of the participants, respectively, whereas more than 85% acknowledged myocardial infarction and stroke as its main consequences. However, 31.2% of the participants were not able to identify a cause for high blood pressure, especially the older and those with worse scores for health literacy. The accurate interpretation of blood pressure values diminished with the increase of systolic and diastolic blood pressure figures provided as examples for interpretation, from approximately 80% for 95/60 mmHg to 50% for 180/100 mmHg. Women and participants with greater levels of education or a previous diagnosis of hypertension tended to interpret blood pressure values correctly more often.
This study provided a quantitative estimate of the gaps in health-related knowledge about hypertension among the general population. Understanding the barriers that hinder the achievement of health-related knowledge on hypertension is expected to contribute for the global improvement of prevention and management of hypertension.
已证明对高血压有足够的了解可提高对该疾病的认知、治疗依从性和控制率。我们旨在评估葡萄牙人群中与高血压相关的健康知识。
通过使用结构化问卷进行面对面访谈，对葡萄牙大陆16至79岁的讲葡萄牙语居民的代表性样本（n = 1624）进行评估。使用“最新生命体征”工具评估健康素养。
本研究参与者估计葡萄牙人群中高血压的平均患病率为45.4%。分别有27.5%和21.5%的参与者报告盐摄入和不良饮食是高血压的主要原因，而超过85%的人承认心肌梗死和中风是其主要后果。然而，31.2%的参与者无法确定高血压的病因，尤其是老年人和健康素养得分较低的人。随着作为解释示例给出的收缩压和舒张压数值的增加，对血压值的准确解释能力下降，从95/60 mmHg时的约80%降至180/100 mmHg时的50%。女性以及教育程度较高或先前被诊断为高血压的参与者往往更常正确解释血压值。
本研究对普通人群中与高血压相关的健康知识差距进行了定量评估。了解阻碍获取高血压相关健康知识的障碍有望为全球改善高血压的预防和管理做出贡献。
