[Blood pressure awareness in Austria: indicators of an increasing information deficit].

Attitudes and knowledge of the Austrian population concerning hypertension have been investigated on a regular basis for 15 years (1978-1993). In 1978 a public campaign of information on hypertension was conducted all over Austria. Between 1978 and 1993 four representative population surveys, based on random samples, were performed (1978, 1984, 1990, 1993). The four surveys showed that maximal blood pressure awareness after the campaign was followed by a decrease of awareness between 1984 and 1993. Above all, lack of knowledge of personal blood pressure increased markedly over the observation period. The determinant "don't know my blood pressure" was self reported by 10% in 1978, 7% in 1984, rising to 17% and 18% in 1990 and 1993, respectively. This increase was significant in females and males younger than 50 years. Nearly no differences were found in self-reported high blood pressure and antihypertensive drug intake between 1978 and 1993 (1978, 1984, 1990: 14%, 1993: 12% with respect to the former; 1978: 10%, 1990: 11%, 1993: 8% with respect to the latter). In 1993 significantly less people than in 1978 reported that their blood pressure had been measured within the past three months (1978: 49%; 1993: 34%). People estimated overweight, alcohol, mental stress, and cigarette smoking as the most important risk factors for hypertension (89%, 89%, 88%, 83%, respectively). The importance of these risk factors in the eyes of the questioned population increased between 1978 and 1993, significantly in the case of cigarette smoking. Primarily a lack of information was found in knowledge of personal values, whereas knowledge of risk factors for hypertension was considerably higher. The results of the four surveys lead to the conclusion that the population should be informed about the health hazards of high blood pressure more intensively and people should be motivated to take an interest in their blood pressure.