Socioeconomic, Cognitive, and Behavioural Variables Concerning Coronary Heart Disease from the Urban Population of Bangladesh

Context: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the leading causes of death in Bangladesh and is a disease of both high socioeconomic status (HSES) and low socioeconomic status (LSES) people. Knowledge and awareness about CHD are important prerequisites for the general population to modify their lifestyle practices and reduce CHD risk. Despite a growing prevalence of CHD, nothing is known about CHD knowledge and awareness, and little about lifestyle practices, among the Bangladeshi population based on their socioeconomic status. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess and compare knowledge and awareness about CHD among people from HSES and LSES groups in Bangladesh and to determine the relationship between knowledge and awareness about CHD and lifestyle practices. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. The study sample consisted of a total of 478 participants, among whom 238 were of HSES and 240 were of LSES. Participants from either the HSES or LSES were selected using an appropriate random sampling technique. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data concerning knowledge and awareness about CHD and lifestyle practices of the participants. Data were collected for four months from September to December in 2014. Result: The difference between knowledge score of HSES and LSES groups was highly significant, t (475.9) = 24.66, p < .001, 95% CI [8.389, 9.841]. Results indicated that there was a poor level of CHD knowledge among HSES participants and a very poor level for the LSES participants with a mean ± SD of 18.77 ± 4.0 and 9.66 ± 4.1, respectively, out of a maximum possible score of 54. Similar to knowledge, both HSES and LSES groups had a lack of awareness about CHD. However, people of HSES had a better awareness (9.5 ± 3.1) about CHD than did those of LSES (6.06 ± 2.6) out of a maximum score of 20. Results showed a significant difference between the groups for awareness being t (463.01) = 13.20, p < .001, 95% CI [2.928, 3.951]. However, both socioeconomic groups had a good lifestyle score out of a possible maximum of 5 (HSES 3.63 ± 0.55 vs LSES 3.53 ± 0.68), with no significant difference between the two groups, t (458.89) = 1.696, p = .090, 95 % CI [-0.015, 0.207].Correlation analyses revealed that knowledge and awareness about CHD were associated with each other in both groups. In contrast, lifestyle practices were not correlated with either knowledge about CHD or awareness in either group. Further analysis using multiple regressions indicated that knowledge about CHD was associated with socioeconomic status and age, and, awareness about CHD was associated with socioeconomic status and gender. Lifestyle practice was associated with socioeconomic status and age. Conclusion: The results showed, in spite of having poor level of knowledge and awareness about CHD, that participants of both groups maintained a good lifestyle practice. This indicated that only knowledge and awareness about CHD are not sufficient in outlining an individual’s lifestyle practice; contributions of socioeconomic, sociocultural and environmental factors also have an important role in adapting lifestyle practices. These findings could make a valuable contribution for effective primary and secondary preventive strategies by assisting government policy makers to tailor public campaigns specifically to particular groups.