Association of health knowledge with adoption of heart healthy behaviours: a cross-sectional analysis using data from the PURE study

AIMS: This study aims to assess aspects of health knowledge: i) awareness of health effect of tobacco smoking and ii) awareness of preventive actions for heart disease and stroke, and their relationships with adoption of heart healthy behaviours (smoking cessation and utilisation of antihypertensive treatment). METHODS: In this multi-cohort study, we recruited adults aged 35 to 70 years from 21 countries. Data on health effects of tobacco smoking (10 questions) and health actions to prevent heart disease or stroke (11 questions) were collected at baseline. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationship with the outcomes of smoking cessation and use of antihypertensive treatment adjusting for adjusting for possible confounders. RESULTS: Of the 12,962 included in the descriptive analysis,…