Gender and Social Inequalities in Awareness of Coronary Artery Disease in European Countries

Antonio Daponte-Codina, Emily C. Knox, Inmaculada Mateo-Rodriguez, Amanda Seims, Vera Regitz-Zagrosek, Angela H. E. M. Maas, Alan White, Floris Barnhoorn and Fernando Rosell-Ortiz
Additional contact information
Antonio Daponte-Codina: Andalusian School of Public Health, 18011 Granada, Spain
Emily C. Knox: CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
Inmaculada Mateo-Rodriguez: Andalusian School of Public Health, 18011 Granada, Spain
Amanda Seims: Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford BD9 6RJ, UK
Vera Regitz-Zagrosek: Department of Cardiology, University of Zurich, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland
Angela H. E. M. Maas: Department of Cardiology, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Alan White: School of Health and Community Studies, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds LS6 3QS, UK
Floris Barnhoorn: European Public Health Association (EUPHA), 3500 BN Utrecht, The Netherlands
Fernando Rosell-Ortiz: Medical Emergency Services 061, 26580 La Rioja, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the single leading cause of death in Europe and the most common form of cardiovascular disease. Little is known about awareness in the European population. A cross-sectional telephone survey of 2609 individuals from six European countries was conducted to gather information on perceptions of CAD, risk factors, preventive measures, knowledge of heart attack symptoms and ability to seek emergency medical care. Level of awareness was compared according to gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES) and educational level. Women were approximately five times less likely than men to consider heart disease as a main health issue or leading cause of death (OR = 0.224, 95% CI: 0.178–0.280, OR = 0.196, 95% CI: 0.171–0.226). Additionally, women were significantly less likely to have ever had a cardiovascular screening test (OR = 0.515, 95% CI: 0.459–0.578). Only 16.3% of men and 15.3% of women were able to spontaneously identify the main symptoms of a heart attack. Almost half of the sample failed to state that they would call emergency services in case of a cardiac event. Significant differences according to age, SES and education were found for many indicators amongst both men and women. Development of a European strategy targeting improved awareness of CAD and reduced gender and social inequalities within the European population is warranted.

Keywords: coronary artery disease; awareness; gender bias; sex differences; inequalities; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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