Attitudes towards the effectiveness of cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment among Tyumen men with and without coronary artery disease

Purpose: To investigate the attitudes towards the effectiveness of cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment among men aged 25-64 years with and without coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: An epidemiological study was conducted within the cardiology screening using the MONICA-psychosocial standardized questionnaire. A representative sample of 1000 men (250 in each age group: 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64 years) was recruited from the voting lists of one of the administrative districts of Tyumen. The response rate was 85.0% (n=850). Different forms of CAD ("definite" and "possible") were determined using standard epidemiological methods (the WHO's questionnaire for angina, ECG at rest, the Minnesota Code). To study the attitudes towards the effectiveness of cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment, a self-administered questionnaire with fixed-response questions was used. Results: Prevalence of CAD among men 25-64 years was 12.4%, "definite" CAD – 6.6%, "possible" CAD – 5.7%. Compared to the control group (subjects without CAD) the number of respondents who did not believe in effective treatment and prevention of heart disease was significantly greater among men with "definite" CAD. To the question whether heart diseases can be effectively prevented at the present time, the response "No, not any" in subjects with "definite" CAD was found 9.3 times more often than in the control group (the Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-square=13.572, degrees of freedom=7, p=0.0593). When asked whether heart diseases could be effectively treated at the present time, subjects with "definite" CAD answered "No, not any" 10.5 times more often than the controls (the Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-square=12.941, degrees of freedom=7, p=0.0736). Among men with "possible" CAD 8.5% believed that "only some" cardiovascular diseases could be treated effectively at the present time which was 2.9 times higher than the result of the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: Men aged 25-64 years with "definite" CAD are skeptical about modern medicine in regard to prevention and treatment of heart disease. Men with "possible" CAD have positive attitudes in regard to treatment of heart disease.