Department of Clinical Sciences (Cardiology), College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, PO Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pediatrics, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Aug 20;24(1):2256. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19698-x.
There has been an increased focus on children as a target for primordial prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In particular, girls should receive attention to combat the burden of CVD in women, because women have higher CVD mortality and morbidity rates than men do. As health literacy is paramount, the evaluation of awareness, and knowledge of CVD and its risk factors and their associations with the lifestyles of girls forms the basis for planning cardiovascular health promotion programs aiming to improve girls' immediate health and reduce the future burden of CVD among women.
A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of girls attending elementary and intermediate schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The girls completed a newly validated 24-item questionnaire that assessed their demographic data, lifestyles, and awareness and knowledge of CVD and its risk factors. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were obtained. Knowledge scores were calculated on the basis of correct responses and compared between subgroups via analysis of variance to determine associated factors.
In total, 469 girls (mean age of 12.5 years) were included. Approximately 41.4% of them did not exercise or only exercised once a week. The dietary intake of important food groups was below or just at the minimal recommended servings for most. Overall, 44.1% were overweight/obese, and almost half were identified as hypertensive on the basis of a single resting measurement. Awareness of CVD as a dangerous disease in adults was 50.3%, whereas, cancer was identified by 61% of participants. Individual risk factors were identified by ≈ 25%, and 16.6% were not aware of any risk factors. The overall knowledge score of the participants was 2.6 (± 1.6) out of a total possible score of 8 representing 32.5% (± 20%). Knowledge levels were positively influenced by increasing school grade (P = 0.001) and family history of CVD (P < 0.001). There was no significant favorable association between improved knowledge level and lifestyle factors.
The awareness and knowledge of CVD among girls aged 8-16 years are poor and are largely dissociated from their lifestyle. Improved knowledge scores with increasing school grade and family history of CVD confirm a role for schools and families in improving girls' knowledge. Our findings mirror those obtained in older women, showing that misinformation among women starts in childhood and should be targeted early in life.
人们越来越关注儿童作为心血管疾病（CVD）一级预防的目标。特别是，应该关注女孩，以应对女性 CVD 负担，因为女性的 CVD 死亡率和发病率高于男性。由于健康素养至关重要，因此评估女孩对 CVD 及其危险因素的认识和知识，以及这些因素与女孩生活方式的关系，是制定旨在改善女孩即时健康并降低女性未来 CVD 负担的心血管健康促进计划的基础。
在沙特阿拉伯利雅得的小学和初中，对随机抽取的女孩进行了一项前瞻性横断面研究。女孩们完成了一份新的、经过验证的 24 项问卷，该问卷评估了她们的人口统计学数据、生活方式、对 CVD 及其危险因素的认识和知识。测量了她们的体重指数和血压。根据正确答案计算了知识得分，并通过方差分析比较了不同亚组之间的得分，以确定相关因素。
共有 469 名女孩（平均年龄 12.5 岁）被纳入研究。其中约 41.4%的女孩不运动或每周只运动一次。重要食物组的饮食摄入量低于或仅达到最低推荐摄入量。总体而言，44.1%的女孩超重/肥胖，根据单次静息测量，近一半的女孩被诊断为高血压。50.3%的女孩认为 CVD 是一种成人危险疾病，而 61%的参与者认为癌症是一种危险疾病。约 25%的参与者能识别出个别危险因素，而 16.6%的参与者不知道任何危险因素。参与者的总体知识得分为 2.6（±1.6），满分为 8 分，代表 32.5%（±20%）。知识水平随着学校年级的提高（P=0.001）和 CVD 家族史（P<0.001）的增加而呈正相关。知识水平的提高与生活方式因素之间没有显著的正相关关系。
8-16 岁女孩对 CVD 的认识和知识水平较差，且在很大程度上与她们的生活方式无关。随着学校年级的提高和 CVD 家族史的增加，知识得分的提高证实了学校和家庭在提高女孩知识水平方面的作用。我们的研究结果与老年女性的研究结果相似，表明女性的错误信息始于童年时期，应该在生命早期就针对这一问题进行干预。
