Does family history of hypertension in first year mbbs students influence knowledge regarding diagnosis and management of hypertension?

Background: Hypertension is one of the major metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and accounts for substantial mortality. There are very few studies investigating the knowledge of MBBS students regarding hypertension. In this study, we explored the relationship between presence of family history of hypertension and knowledge regarding diagnosis, management and complications of hypertension in first year MBBS students.
Methods: This study was conducted in a private medical college in Tamil Nadu, India. 149 first year MBBS students were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee, and a pre-tested, structured questionnaire was administered to all respondents.
Results: Most students knew the basics of hypertension- what it was, and how it was diagnosed. Only 42% of those without family history of hypertension knew that treatment is lifelong, as compared to 65% of those with family history (p = 0.005). 92.5% of those with positive family history knew that salt-restricted diet is part of management, in contrast to 76.8% of those without positive family history.
Conclusions: Those with family history of hypertension had significantly better knowledge about the duration of treatment. Similarly, those with a positive family history were significantly more likely to know that salt-restricted diet is advised as part of management of hypertension.