Evaluation of Lifestyle Related to Cardiovascular Health of Patients Having Referred to Hospitals under the Auspices of Babol University of Medical Sciences

Extended abstract Introduction: Lifestyle is a way that a person chooses throughout life and as an indicator that can affect the physical and mental health of people. Lifestyle is a relatively harmonious and coherent set of all the objective and subjective matters of the life of an individual or a group of individuals. These matters can include assets, behavioral patterns, social relationships, consumption, leisure and entertainment activities, body covering and management, eating habits, and home decoration, etc., which are external and observable affairs and behaviors. It can also include insights (perceptions, beliefs, and worldviews), tendencies (values and preferences), etc., which are internal and mental behaviors. Lifestyle should be considered as a complex combination of tasks and behavioral habits in individuals and groups, especially given the cultural underpinnings and socio-economic conditions and social relationships and their personalities. Although we are well aware of the role of the living environment, people make many decisions that affect their health. In lifestyles related to health, there are diseases that are mainly based on people’s daily habits. Habits that keep people active and lead them to a sustainable approach, can cause a number of health issues that can themselves lead to chronic illness and threatening consequences. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the lifestyle related to the health of cardiovascular patients in Babol. Method: This study is a descriptive-analytical study that was conducted to investigate the lifestyle of cardiovascular patients. The study population included all cardiovascular patients in the hospitals of Shahid Ayatollah Dr. Beheshti, Shahid Yahya Nejad, and Ayatollah Rouhani in the spring of 1398. The statistical sample comprises 190 patients with cardiovascular diseases who referred to the hospital due to high blood pressure, heart attack, heart failure and heart pain within a total of three months. A Lifestyle Questionnaire consisting of physical health (8 questions), exercise and health (7 questions), weight and kidney control (7 questions), disease prevention (7 questions), mental health (7 questions), spiritual health (6 questions), Social health (7 questions), Drugs and Drugs avoidance (6 questions), Accident prevention (8 questions), and Environmental health (7 questions) are scored on a Likert scale from 1 to 6, and the Disease Questionnaire includes 15 questions. To ensure the internal correlation of the questions and items being assessed for the concepts used in the research, the initial questionnaire was tested to eliminate possible shortcomings of the questionnaire that could be due to incomprehensibility of questions, inappropriate order of questions, and length of the questionnaire. Experts and researchers were also asked to point out the possible problems of the questionnaire in front of each item and question. After collecting the questionnaires, the reliability of the indicators was assessed, which then, the results obtained for each indicator are presented separately. Also, the questions and statements that were made to measure the variables were reviewed by experts and professors and the initial questionnaire was finalized after deleting and correcting the questions and items. To test the reliability of the questionnaire, first 30 questionnaires were completed and then reviewed and approved by Cronbach’s test, and then the rest of the questionnaires were distributed. In the internal consistency method, between the components of lifestyle and the whole questionnaire, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated, which are between 0.78 to 0.91. Reliability coefficients by the retest method are in the range from 0.85 to 0.95. The Cronbach’s alpha obtained for each of the research indicators is as follows: Physical health (0.80), Exercise and health (0.84), Weight control and nutrition (0.78), Disease prevention (0.90), Mental health (0.91), Spiritual health (0.87), Social health (0.80), avoidance of drugs, and alcohol (0.91), accident prevention (0.79), and environmental health (0.80). This indicates the internal correlation between the variables to measure the concepts. Thus, it can be said that the present study deals with the necessary reliability or validity. Then, the lifestyle of cardiovascular patients was studied. Research data were analyzed using chi-square test and clustering using SPSS25 software. Findings: According to the information obtained from the present study, the mean age of cardiovascular disease among patients is 51  and older. Also, there was no significant difference in terms of sex in performing a statistical test and examining the relationship between gender and lifestyle of cardiovascular patients, and being a man did not show itself as a risk factor. The illiteracy and low level of education of a large number of patients in the present study may indicate the possibility of lack of awareness necessary to have a proper lifestyle. In terms of employment status, as can be seen, many cardiovascular patients were housewives and unemployed, which is a major reason for inactivity and unhealthy lifestyle. Comparison of the relative and absolute frequency distribution of lifestyle dimensions in both sexes of cardiovascular patients also showed that most cardiovascular patients had moderate lifestyles. Also, it can be said that there is a significant relationship between gender and lifestyle and also, between age, job and education with lifestyle. The results of clustering test showed that a large number of respondents, who had cardiovascular problems and referred to hospitals under the auspices of Babol University of Medical Sciences for treatment, had a poor lifestyle and fewer had a good and appropriate lifestyle. Discussion: The findings of this study generally indicate the existence of wrong and inappropriate behavioral habits, physical inactivity, improper eating habits and stressful events in patients that have led to poor and dangerous lifestyles. One of the limitations of the research was the involvement of personal bias in answering the questions, the lack of accurate answers to the questions on drug and alcohol use (of course, the respondents were explained that their information will remain confidential), and the incompleteness of all questionnaires. This makes it necessary to pay attention and emphasize the role of health education in order to familiarize patients with the appropriate lifestyle to act as a preventive factor for the occurrence of diseases. Increasing development of urban and industrial communities regardless of urban health factors, poor nutrition pattern, sedentary lifestyle, obesity and overweight, insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables, and smoking has been followed some of the factors that increase the prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia, fatty liver, heart attacks, strokes, and cancers. If the government puts special preventive and educational measures on the agenda and pays more attention to this sector, it will not only reduce medical expenses but also prevent further cultural rupture of the society and create a gap between the correct patterns of traditional past and present life. Ethical considerations Authors Contribution All of four authors were involved in writing this article. Financial Resources In order to publish the article, it has not received direct or indirect financial support from any organization. Following Principles of Research Ethics All of data has gathered with participants’ prior consent, remaining anonymous. In addition, we have obeyed all of research principles including piracy, manipulation etc.