Perceived Heart Attack Likelihood in Adults with a High Diabetes Risk.
Yoshimi Fukuoka, Yoo Jung Oh
PMID 34856501WHAT IT FOUND
Among adults at high diabetes risk, 32.5% could not list any heart attack symptoms, and 28.8% and 25.0% felt lower five-year and lifetime risk than peers.
Nurses should assess perceived risk and teach symptoms before advising lifestyle changes.
Key findings
01Among 80 adults at high risk for type 2 diabetes, 32.5% did not list any heart attack symptoms, and 62.5% of the remaining participants listed chest, arm, shoulder, or jaw pain/tightness/discomfort.
0228.8% and 25.0% reported lower perceived five-year and lifetime heart attack risk than same-age peers.
03In adjusted analysis, older age and current smoking were associated with lower perceived heart attack risk, while higher BMI and family history were associated with higher perceived risk.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 80 adults were studied, all overweight or obese and highly motivated to lose weight, so findings may not apply to lower-risk adults. Participants reported many risk factors themselves, which may understate risk. The sample size was small, and the number of current smokers was very small. The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that any factor caused low risk perception. Participants were recruited from a diabetes prevention trial, so they may not represent all adults at high diabetes risk.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a heart attack education program works. The study only measured what participants already knew and perceived; it did not test an intervention or show that education changed behavior.