RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Socio-economic disparities in heart disease in the Republic of Lebanon: findings from a population-based study
JF Heart Asia
JO Heart Asia
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, British Cardiovascular Society and Asia Pacific Heart Association
SP 67
OP 72
DO 10.1136/ha.2009.000851
VO 2
IS 1
A1 Tarik Ramahi
A1 Marwan Khawaja
A1 Niveen Abu-Rmeileh
A1 Sawsan Abdulrahim
YR 2010
UL http://heartasia.bmj.com/content/2/1/67.abstract
AB Background Socio-economic inequalities in the incidence of heart disease exist in developed countries. No data are available on the relation between heart disease and socio-economic status in Arab countries. This study examined the relation between heart disease and socio-economic status (income and education) among adults in Lebanon.Methods The study examined data from 7879 respondents aged 40 years or more in the 2004 Lebanese Survey of Family Health. The dependent variable was reported heart disease. The main independent variables were education and household income. The analysis adjusted for the classic risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD), namely smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, age, sex and other socio-demographic variables. Bivariate associations were calculated using χ2 tests. Adjusted ORs for heart disease were calculated using multivariate logistic regression models.Results 7.5% of respondents reported cardiac disease, 15.2% hypertension, 10.1% diabetes, 3.2% hypercholesterolaemia and 47.5% smoked at the time or previously. After adjustment for the classic risk factors of CHD, reported heart disease was inversely associated with education (OR=1.53, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.04, for those with less than elementary and OR=1.34, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.80, for those with elementary education). Reported heart disease was also inversely associated with income (OR=1.40, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.80, for those in the lowest income bracket). Past smoking, hypertension, age, male sex, marriage and residence in Beirut were all significantly associated with reported cardiac disease.Conclusions In Lebanon, adults with lower income and educational levels had a higher prevalence of heart disease independent of the risk factors of CHD.