Abstract P092: Patient Ethnicity Predicts Poor Health Access and Gaps in Perception of Personal Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Abstract

Background: Focus of health literacy campaigns has centered around raising awareness. It is unknown whether awareness of cardiovascular risk factors accurately reflects personalization of one’s own cardiovascular risk especially in different ethnic groups. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed in consecutive patients presenting with chest pain and admitted to a large, urban Chest Pain Center at Yale-New Haven Hospital. A 32-item multiple item questionnaire was administered in English or Spanish to examine knowledge of CHD risk factors. Separately, the personalization of coronary risk factors was determined by having patients list [write in] their individual risk factors for having a heart attack. Multivariate logistic regression model and odds ratios were used to evaluate predictors of misperception, defined as gap between knowledge and personalization of risk. Primary outcome was the evaluation of ethnic disparities in awareness of cardiovascular risk factors and the patient’s misperceptions on personal risk factors. Secondary outcome was the assessment of access to information in the same population by gender and ethnicity. Results: Between Oct 2006-April 2008, 1584 consecutive patients admitted to the Chest Pain Center were screened for eligibility, and 1051 patients were enrolled. Between Hispanic, White, and African American patients, Hispanic patients were least aware of major CHD risk factors. In addition, misperception about personal risk was significantly higher in nonwhite compared to the white participants. This disparity persisted for the major modifiable coronary risk factors including hyperlipidemia and diabetes even when controlled for age, gender, employment, marital status, prior history of CAD and sources of health information. Conclusion: Knowledge of CHD risk factors vary by ethnicity. In addition, there are major gaps between awareness and personalization of risk in major modifiable CHD risk factors in different ethnic groups.