Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are becoming major health burden in developing countries such as India. Rural women are reported to have high CVD-related mortality rates and are less likely to receive appropriate treatment.
Objective: To assess knowledge, practices, and burden of CVD-related risk factors among women in a rural area of Delhi.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Pooth Khurd village, a rural pocket situated in northwest district of Delhi through house-to-house survey by two investigators. A total of 100 women above 18 years of age and resident of the village were included in the study using systematic random sampling technique. A pretested interview schedule, containing items to assess knowledge and practices regarding CVDs and risk factors based on various validated tools, was used. Fischers exact and Pearsons correlation tests were applied; tests were two sided with p-value below 0.05 considered significant.
Results: Poor CVD knowledge was seen among study participants with less than half of subjects identifying family history (24%), tobacco and alcohol intake (48%, 47%), and so forth as risk factors for CVDs. High burden of risk factors, such as high salt intake (35%), inadequate physical activity (77%), and raised blood sugar (5%), and poor health-seeking behavior were observed.
Conclusion: This study reflects poor knowledge and relatively high burden of CVD risk factors among rural women. Poor knowledge is predictive of high CVD risk in community settings.
Key words: Rural, women, cardiovascular risk factors, urbanization, knowledge
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