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  • Special Issue: Current evidence and perspectives for hypertension management in Asia
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Sociodemographic correlates of knowledge about high sodium-related diseases among adults in Malaysia

Hypertension Research volume 45, pages 620–628 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

The prevalence of high sodium-related diseases is increasing across the globe. Knowledge plays an important role in disease prevention. The objective of the present study was to examine sociodemographic factors associated with knowledge of high sodium-related diseases. The Malaysian Community Salt Survey (MyCoSS) was used in the present study for secondary analyses. It is a nationwide cross-sectional survey that was conducted in Malaysia. A non-parametric test to evaluate trends and a negative binomial regression were utilised to assess knowledge of high sodium-related diseases. Income, educational level, gender, ethnicity, house locality and hypertension were found to be significantly associated with knowledge of high sodium-related diseases. In particular, higher income earners, well-educated people, women, Malays, urban dwellers and hypertensive adults were more likely to have acquired a lot of knowledge of high sodium-related diseases compared to that acquired by lower income earners, less-educated people, men, individuals of other ethnic groups, rural dwellers and nonhypertensive adults. In conclusion, sociodemographic factors and hypertension play an important role in knowledge acquired about high sodium-related diseases. The findings of the present study could inform a future policy directed towards increasing knowledge about high sodium-related diseases among the population in Malaysia.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Director General of Health, Malaysia, for his permission to use the data from the Malaysian Community Salt Survey (MyCoSS) and to publish this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics, Finance and Banking, College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia

    Yong Kang Cheah

  2. Sector for Biostatistics and Data Repository, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, No. 1, Jln Setia Murni U13/52, Seksyen U13, 40170, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

    Sharifah Nazeera Syed Anera, Chee Cheong Kee & Mohd Azahadi Omar

  3. Institute for Medical Research, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Jalan Pahang, 50588, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Kuang Hock Lim

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  1. Yong Kang Cheah
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Correspondence to Yong Kang Cheah.

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Cheah, Y.K., Syed Anera, S.N., Kee, C.C. et al. Sociodemographic correlates of knowledge about high sodium-related diseases among adults in Malaysia. Hypertens Res 45, 620–628 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-022-00858-8

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