D. Vantiel et al., SEX-DIFFERENCES IN ILLNESS BELIEFS AND ILLNESS BEHAVIOR IN PATIENTS WITH SUSPECTED CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE, Patient education and counseling, 33(2), 1998, pp. 143-147
The aim of this study was to explore sex differences in illness belief
s and behaviour in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CA
D). Twenty-eight patients, 16 women and 12 men, were interviewed. The
results show that both men and women think of CAD as a 'men's disease'
and have equal knowledge of CAD risk factors. However, especially the
men considered their own risk of developing CAD lower than their esti
mated probability of their own sex and as low as their estimated risk
for women. Both men and women did not attribute their symptoms indicat
ive of CAD to their heart. Women, especially those who did not attribu
te their symptoms to their heart, had a longer patient delay than men,
although their symptoms were indicative of CAD. To conclude, men as w
ell as women should be made more aware of their own risk of developing
CAD and of the manifestation of CAD symptoms. Physicians could be enc
ouraged to ask patients more explicitly and thoroughly about their ill
ness beliefs, to check their knowledge and inform them about CAD. (C)
1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.