| Background: Iran has undergone a remarkable demographic transition over the last three
decades. Socioeconomic status (SES) indicators including education, income, and occupation
are associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, morbidity, and mortality. The
aim of the present study was to describe demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, their
association to the diseases, and to explore the predictive risk of CHD in Tabriz, the fourth
largest city in Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province.
Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out to explore and analyze the
current SES status of CHD patients. The study was conducted in Tabriz and all patients
(n=189) refereed to the Central Referral Hospital for cardiac patients (Shahid Madani Hospital)
from 2009 to 2010 were considered. A researcher structured questionnaire with 15 questions
was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the basic SES features
of the CHD patients and data analysis was done using SPSS ver. 16.
Results: Less educated participants were more susceptible to CHD. Regarding to occupational
status, housewives and retired men were in higher risk of CHD than the rest of the people.
Studied patients also reported to be mostly from urban areas that were living in apartment
complexes.
Conclusion: In line with some international research evidence the study results suggested that
people from lower/middle social classes were in greater CHD risk than higher social classes.
This epidemic might be halted through the promotion of healthier lifestyles and the support of
environmental and policy changes. |