SOCIOECONOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASES PATIENTS ATTENDING HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN SOUTH PART OF IRAQ TERRITORY

Background: There are many risk factors that can predict the likelihood of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The more risk factors a person has, the greater is the probability of developing heart diseases. Several CVD risk factors are essentially unmodifiable.

Objectives: To study the social and economic characteristics of patients admitted to CCFU suffering from Ischemic Heart diseases in Maysan teaching Hospitals, south of Iraq.

Methodology: This matched case–control study was conducted in Maysan province. Maysan is a small city in the South east of Iraq. Target population was known cases of patients with IHD attending 10 PHCCs to receive their free medications. Their ages are ranged from 35 to 65 years. The control group was selected from patients complaining of acute illnesses attending the same clinics seeking medical care; all were free from IHD. The total number for each group was 200. The questionnaire was modified from several studies. The data were collected by the researcher through direct interview with patients as well as from their relatives or their accompanying persons. Relatives or their accompanying persons.

Results: More than half of patients (51.9%) were married as compared to 48.1% of controls. Marital status, income, residence and occupation were not significantly different between patients and controls, but the education is significantly different between cases and controls (P=0.02). It was found that 64.6% of controls have higher education compared to 35.4% of cases.

Conclusion: Social characteristics and economical characteristics like education, income, and marital status were found to be an important inputs associated with IHD which proved to be actively associated with patients with IHD. Attention should be given in to all effective socio- economical factors proved to play role in developing IHD.