. Venetia Notara; . George Antonogeorgos; . Christos Prapas; . Anna Velentza; . Maria‑Eleni Kordoni; . Eirini Manifava; . Andrea Paola Rojas‑Gil; . Ekaterina N. Kornilaki; . Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos
Volume 8, Issue 8 , August 2018, , Pages 1-7
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are adopted during childhood andadolescence. Health literacy at these ages remains the cornerstone of a healthy adult life. The ...
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BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are adopted during childhood andadolescence. Health literacy at these ages remains the cornerstone of a healthy adult life. The aimof the study was to examine the role of gender regarding CVD risk factors’ awareness and to developan evaluation tool for the assessment of CVD risk factors’ knowledge and perception among children.METHODS: During the school years 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, 1728 students aged10–12 years (5th and 6th grade), from 5 Greek cities (including Athens metropolitan area), were enrolled;nearly 45% were boys (participation rate varied from 95% to 100% from school to school). Studentsand their parents completed an anonymous questionnaire; students’ somatometric characteristics werealso recorded. Schools were randomly selected. Linear regression models were applied to evaluatethe impact of children’s gender on knowledge and perceptions about CVD risk factors.RESULTS: Significant higher percentage of correct answers, among girls compared to boys, wasrevealed regarding the weekly consumption of legumes, the breakfast weekly consumption, andthe effects of soft drinks on health (all P < 0.05). As far as CVD risk factors’ knowledge, significantlyhigher percentage of girls than boys also answered that high blood pressure and television viewingare bad for health and particularly for heart‑related problems (all P < 0.05). Girls had a significantlyhigher mean score of 0.304 than boys, after adjusting for several confounders (P = 0.029).CONCLUSION: Health education programs should take into account gender differences in children’sperception and attitudes toward CVD risk factors, in order to increase awareness of children andeventually reduce CVD risk during adulthood.