The relationship between cardiovascular risk level determined by SCORE2 and cardiovascular disease risk awareness and health literacy in individuals aged 40–69: a cross-sectional study

摘要

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Individuals’ awareness of cardiovascular risk and levels of health literacy play a critical role in the prevention of CVD. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between cardiovascular risk level calculated using SCORE2 and awareness of cardiovascular disease risk and health literacy among individuals aged 40–69 years. This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in 2025 among individuals aged 40–69 years who attended the Family Medicine outpatient clinics at Ankara Bilkent City Hospital. Participants were recruited using a convenience sampling method. Individuals who were aged 40–69 years, had undergone the necessary blood tests required for SCORE2 calculation within the last six months, were able to communicate in Turkish, and provided informed consent were included in the study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using sociodemographic information, the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Awareness Assessment Scale (KHRDÖ), the Turkish Health Literacy Scale-32 (TSOY-32), and the SCORE2 risk assessment system. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 software. Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationships between variables. Participants’ KHRFDÖ scores indicated a moderate level of cardiovascular risk awareness, while TSOY-32 results showed that a considerable proportion of individuals had “inadequate” or “problematic-limited” health literacy levels. According to the SCORE2 classification, a substantial proportion of participants were in the high and very high cardiovascular risk groups. A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was observed between SCORE2 and the perceived heart attack and stroke risk sub-dimension of KHRFDÖ (r = 0.180; p = 0.001). In addition, significant but weak positive correlations were found between health literacy levels and several sub-dimensions of cardiovascular risk awareness. A weak positive association was observed between objectively calculated cardiovascular risk and perceived risk of heart attack and stroke. These findings suggest that objective cardiovascular risk assessment tools such as SCORE2 may provide additional value when considered together with cognitive and behavioural factors such as health literacy and risk awareness in primary care settings.