Awareness of Hypertension, Hypercholesterolemia, and Diabetes Mellitus and Associated Characteristics in Russian...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Cardiovascular Medicine

Background:

• Russia exhibits high cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality compared to other European nations.
• Key CVD risk factors include age, male sex, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus (DM).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate awareness of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and DM among Russian adults.
• To identify socio-demographic, lifestyle, and health correlates of this awareness.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study using data from the "Know Your Heart" (KYH) study (2015-2018).
• Population-based sample of 3803 Russians aged 35-69 years.
• Awareness assessed via self-report against health check measures (blood pressure, cholesterol, HbA1c, medication use).
• Logistic regression used to analyze correlates of awareness.

Main Results:

• Awareness rates were 79% for hypertension, 45% for hypercholesterolemia, and 61% for DM among diagnosed individuals.
• Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia awareness linked to older age, female sex, non-smoking, obesity, and prior CVD.
• Diabetes awareness associated with low income and prior CVD history.
• Hypertension awareness was high; hypercholesterolemia and DM awareness were relatively low.

Conclusions:

• Significant disparities exist in the awareness of major cardiovascular disease risk factors in Russia.
• Targeted public health interventions are needed to increase awareness of hypercholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus.
• Enhanced awareness of CVD risk factors can improve prevention and early intervention strategies in Russia.