Rakab Mohamed Saad, Baklola Mohamed, Elsalakawi Basel Hatem, Zaki Moaz Mohamed, Elsaeidi Mohamed Elhusseini, Fouad Hossam, Walid Belal, Elbaz Abdelrahman, Emara Ali, Ghanem Abdelrahman Sherif, Radwan Nada Mohammed, Abdelmeguid Ahmed Reda, Alkalla Eman Elsayed, Shaheen Rehab Shaheen Bahram
Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Internal Medicine and Critical Care Unit, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Egypt Heart J. 2024 Nov 22;76(1):152. doi: 10.1186/s43044-024-00584-1.
Ischemic heart disease (IHD) remains a leading cause of mortality among the elderly population, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like Egypt, where public health infrastructure may struggle to meet the needs of a growing aging population. Awareness of the risk factors and warning signs associated with IHD is critical for early detection and intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the level of awareness and knowledge regarding IHD risk factors and warning signs among elderly individuals in Egypt, focusing on differences between urban and rural populations.
Among 595 participants aged 60 years and above, only 18.7% demonstrated good knowledge of IHD risk factors, whereas 47.2% were categorized as having poor knowledge. In terms of warning signs, 7.2% exhibited good awareness, while 47.9% showed poor awareness. Overall, more than half (51.8%) of the participants were found to have poor knowledge of IHD, and just 15.1% had good overall awareness of both risk factors and warning signs. Urban participants exhibited significantly higher knowledge compared to rural participants (p < 0.05). Educational attainment was a strong predictor of knowledge, with participants holding postgraduate degrees scoring the highest. Economic status also influenced awareness, with those in the excellent category demonstrating significantly higher knowledge (p < 0.05). Occupation had a notable impact, with engineers exhibiting the highest levels of awareness and farmers the lowest. Gender, however, was not a significant factor, with males and females showing similar levels of awareness.
The study reveals a significant knowledge gap concerning IHD risk factors and warning signs among Egypt's elderly population, particularly in rural areas and among individuals with lower levels of education and economic status. This gap underscores the need for targeted public health campaigns and interventions, particularly in rural regions, to raise awareness and reduce the burden of IHD among Egypt's elderly. Enhanced education and community-based programs could be effective in mitigating the risks associated with poor awareness of IHD.
缺血性心脏病（IHD）仍然是老年人群中主要的死亡原因，尤其是在埃及等低收入和中等收入国家，那里的公共卫生基础设施可能难以满足不断增长的老龄人口的需求。了解与缺血性心脏病相关的风险因素和警示信号对于早期发现和干预至关重要。本研究旨在评估埃及老年个体对缺血性心脏病风险因素和警示信号的认知水平，重点关注城乡人口之间的差异。
在595名60岁及以上的参与者中，只有18.7%的人对缺血性心脏病风险因素有良好的认知，而47.2%的人被归类为认知较差。在警示信号方面，7.2%的人有良好的认知，而47.9%的人认知较差。总体而言，超过一半（51.8%）的参与者对缺血性心脏病的认知较差，只有15.1%的人对风险因素和警示信号都有良好的总体认知。城市参与者的认知明显高于农村参与者（p<0.05）。教育程度是认知的有力预测因素，拥有研究生学位的参与者得分最高。经济状况也影响认知，处于优秀类别的人认知明显更高（p<0.05）。职业有显著影响，工程师的认知水平最高，农民的认知水平最低。然而，性别不是一个重要因素，男性和女性的认知水平相似。
该研究揭示了埃及老年人群在缺血性心脏病风险因素和警示信号方面存在显著的知识差距，特别是在农村地区以及教育和经济水平较低的个体中。这一差距凸显了开展有针对性的公共卫生宣传活动和干预措施的必要性，特别是在农村地区，以提高认知并减轻埃及老年人缺血性心脏病的负担。加强教育和社区项目可能有效地降低与缺血性心脏病认知不足相关的风险。
