The Good Heart, Good Life survey: self‐reported cardiovascular disease risk factors, health knowledge and attitudes among Greek‐Australians in Sydney

Abstract

This survey aimed to assess the prevalence and knowledge of coronary risk factors and selfperceived coronary heart disease risk among Greek-Australians in the Marrickville area of inner Sydney. A. random sample of 834 household addresses was selected from the 2 403 households having GreekAustralian surnames on the electoral roll. In each household, one individual aged 18 years or over was selected using a Kish grid, and a questionnaire was administered by a bilingual interviewer. Questions concerned knowledge of and self-reported risk factors for coronary heart disease, and ratings of perceived stress, social support and networks. There was a response rate of 81 per cent of actual Greek-Australian households, a total of 541 interviews (61 per cent women). Most of the sample (86 per cent) were born in Greece and 77 per cent of interviews were administered in Greek. The age-adjusted male prevalences of self-reported smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and body mass index over 26 kg/m* were 44 per cent, 5 per cent, 14 per cent and 58 per cent, respectively. The age-adjusted female prevalences of self-reported smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and body mass index over 26 kg/m* were 19 per cent, 8 per cent, 15 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively. Compared to the National Heart Foundation risk-factor prevalence survey, the prevalence of self-reported high blood pressure was lower, but obesity and, among males, smoking, were higher. Low levels of education and poor English-language skills among older Greek-Australians may be contributing to the problem. There is a need for linguistically and culturally appropriate health promotion programs for communities of nonEnglish-speaking background. It has been consistently demonstrated that Australian-born men have higher coronary heart disease mortality rates than immigrants, especially those born in Greece and I t a l~.~.~ There has been a dramatic and continuous decline in coronary heart disease mortality rates since a peak in 1965--1967, and rates are currently about 40 per cent below these levels.4 Age-standardised rates for coronary heart disease in Australian-born men and women decreased by 18 per cent between 1966 and 1976. However, this decline has varied according to place of birth, and, with the exception of Southern European women, continental European immigrants have not shared this downward trend.s Indeed, coronary heart disease rates for men born in Greece, Italy and Yugoslavia actually increased by 4 per cent during this period. Heart disease mortality among immigrant groups tends to approach that of the general population with increased period of residence in Australia.The incidence and determinants of coronary heart disease in Australians of non-English-speaking background has not been closely investigated. Although successful health promotion assumes accurate information about the knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and the cultural context of the target community, few heart disease health promotion programs have b...

Are immigrants at risk of heart disease in Australia? A systematic review

“…25 Biomedical risk factors such as blood pressure, blood lipid profile and body weight/obesity were measured using either direct measurement of the variable, 20,23 or by self-report. 1,18,19,25 Behavioural risk factors such as smoking, 1,18,19,23,25 alcohol consumption, and physical activity and exercise were measured using self-report methods. 1,18,23,25 …”

“…1,18,19,25 Behavioural risk factors such as smoking, 1,18,19,23,25 alcohol consumption, and physical activity and exercise were measured using self-report methods. 1,18,23,25 …”

“…The age range varied from study to study but individuals aged from 14 to 75 years were included in the analyses. 1,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] The reported response rates ranged from 72.6% to 81%, 18,19,22,23 although seven studies did not indicate their response rates. However, this was probably due to the fact that their data were extracted from existing databases.…”

“…These methods included selecting participants from databases such as the electoral roll 18 and telephone directory 19 on the basis of the likely ethnic origin of their surname; recruiting participants from particular ethnic backgrounds via a public campaign; 20 and using databases in which individuals were identified using their known country of birth. 1,5,21,22 Random selection techniques were used in four 1,18,19,22 studies, and non-random selection techniques were used in a further eight studies. The age range varied from study to study but individuals aged from 14 to 75 years were included in the analyses.…”

“…22 In addition, three individual studies examined the effect of blood pressure independently. One study 18 reported that the prevalence of high blood pressure in Greek-Australians (5.2% for men and 8.1% for women) was significantly lower compared with their Australian-born counterparts. 29 The overall prevalence of high blood pressure was lower among Chinese immigrants in Australia (8.6% for men and 11.2% for women) compared with the Australian-born population.…”