AWARENESS OF ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE PILLS AS A RISK FACTOR OF STROKE

Abstract

Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in India. There are diverse risk factors that lead to stroke, one of which is the consumption of oral contraceptive pills. The use of oral contraceptive pills causes an increased risk of stroke in women. We determined the awareness of oral contraceptive pills and its risk for stroke among men and women of various age groups.
Objective: The objective is to find the awareness of oral contraceptive pills as a risk factor for stroke.
Methods: The study was conducted at Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences “Deemed to be University”, Karad. Men and women above the age of 18 years and below 45 years were selected to establish awareness among them. Subjects were chosen by simple random sampling method according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A questionnaire was circulated among a random population to obtain the data. The data collected was further analyzed using the instat software and results were obtained.
Results: Estimates of awareness that oral contraceptive pills is one of the risk factors of stroke was seen to be less in the age group 36-45. According to the score given 53.5% of participants in this age group scored below 7. A good awareness was seen in the age group 18-25. The participants in the age group 26-35 were moderately aware.
Conclusion: Through this study, it is found that though people are aware of stroke, not all of them were aware that oral contraceptive pills use can lead to stroke. Awareness should be created specially among the young generation as the use of oral contraceptive pills is increasing in the modern era. Thus, it is significant to carry out health and educational programs as a valuable avenue to enhance awareness about the relationship between oral contraceptive pills and stroke.