title: Stroke Patients' Recognition and Knowledge of Their Own Vascular Risk Factors: A Sociocultural Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We aimed to study the knowledge of vascular risk factors (VRFs) among patients with stroke and the elements influencing this knowledge using analysis tools from the fields of social and health anthropology.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective, cross-sectional and observational study in a cohort of patients who had suffered a stroke within the prior 3-12 months. Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted by a social anthropologist to evaluate patients' general knowledge of VRF and specifically of their own VRF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 96 patients were included, 56.3% male, mean age 61.6 years. Nearly all patients (97.9%) had at least 1 VRF. When asked to name their VRFs, 45.8% named stress, 29.2% dyslipidemia, 28.1% hypertension, 28.1% cigarette smoking, and 13.5% diabetes. The VRFs most frequently recognized by patients as their own were stress, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cigarette smoking, and cardiac disease. Only 15.6% acknowledged all their VRFs, while 52.1% acknowledged some of them and 32.3% failed to recognize any. Naming stress as a VRF (odds ratio [OR] = .204; 95% confidence interval [CI]: .076-.553) was associated with a lower likelihood of acknowledging at least 1 VRF, whereas working outside the home (OR = 11.314; 95% CI, 1.277-100.232) and having 2 or more VRFs (OR = 3.191; 95% CI, 1.032-9.875) were associated with a higher probability of correctly recognizing at least one of their own VRF.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VRF knowledge is poor in patients with stroke. Stress was the risk factor that patients identified more frequently and it was associated with poorer knowledge of their own VRF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, La Paz University Hospital, Autonomous University of Madrid, IdiPAZ Health Research Institute, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Diez-Ascaso
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, La Paz University Hospital, Autonomous University of Madrid, IdiPAZ Health Research Institute, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martínez-Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, La Paz University Hospital, Autonomous University of Madrid, IdiPAZ Health Research Institute, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mireya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernández-Fournier
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, La Paz University Hospital, Autonomous University of Madrid, IdiPAZ Health Research Institute, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: exuperio.diez@salud.madrid.org.
authors.forename: Exuperio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Díez-Tejedor
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, La Paz University Hospital, Autonomous University of Madrid, IdiPAZ Health Research Institute, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: blanca.fuentes@salud.madrid.org.
authors.forename: Blanca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fuentes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications*; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology*
keywords: Stroke; knowledge; vascular risk factor