Psychosocial and behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among Romanian women and men

The present study was conducted in order to estimate the prevalence of psychosocial and behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among Romanian adults, and to examine gender differences in health-related behavior, stress and coping strategies, health knowledge and beliefs, negative emotions, and motivation for changing health risk behaviors. Data were obtained from 424 men and 507 women employed by two state-owned industries. Few gender differences in the prevalence of alcohol consumption, smoking, maladaptive eating habits or physical exercise were found. Important gaps in health knowledge were identified in both women and men. Generally, women had a "healthier" belief profile than men, but the association of health knowledge and beliefs to health behavior was weak for both sexes. Women scored significantly higher on perceived stress, daily hassles, depression and anxiety than men. Different patterns of coping with stress were observed in men and women. Women reported seeking instrumental and emotional social support more frequently than men. Women also reported venting of emotions, turning to religion, but also disengaging mentally and behaviorally more often than men. Smoking and alcohol consumption co-occurred among men, but not among women. Perceived stress was related to smoking in both women and men. The results of this study of state employees may contribute to the identification of target areas for the primary prevention of CVD in Romania.