Association of family history of hypertension with preventive attitudes and quality of life in turkish population: A cross-sectional study

Hypertension is more common among patients with a family history of hypertension (FHH). However, it is not known whether FHH is associated with hypertension-preventive attitudes in normotensive individuals and their cardiovascular disease-specific quality of life. A comparative cross-sectional study was performed in a tertiary care hospital in Turkey. Patients were grouped based on whether they had FHH or not. Demographics, socioeconomic, and lifestyle characteristics were collected via a structured questionnaire developed by researchers. Hypertension-preventive attitudes were assessed via the Hypertension Prevention Attitudes Scale (HPAS). Quality of life was assessed via the Heart Quality of Life Scale (HeartQoL-TR). Linear regression was performed. 152 participants were included with 1:1 distribution. 68.4% were female, the mean age was 34 ± 10, and 63.2% had a level of education above high school. The FHH group's HPAS score was 5.3 points higher (112.3 ± 11.1 vs 107.0 ± 12.2, P = .006). HeartQoL-TR scores were similar. In multivariate analysis, FHH and higher levels of education were associated with higher HPAS scores, but not with HeartQoL-TR scores. FHH was associated with higher hypertension-preventive attitude scores in this young and educated Turkish population. However, due to the cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported measures, the observed associations should be interpreted cautiously and do not allow causal inference.