Author's response to reviews Title: Knowledge of modifiable risk factors of Coronary Atherosclerotic Heart Disease (CASHD) among a sample in India Authors:

Background: The prevalence of Coronary Atherosclerotic Heart Disease (CASHD) is iincreasing in India. Several modifiable risk factors contribute directly to this disease burden. Public knowledge of such risk factors among the urban Indian population is largely unknown. This investigation attempts to quantify the knowledge of modifiable risk factors of CASHD as sampled among an Indian population at a large metropolitan hospital. Methods: A hospital basedhospital-based, cross sectional study was conducted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a major tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, India. Participants (n=217) were recruited from patient waiting areas in the emergency room and were provided with standardised questionnaires to assess their knowledge of modifiable risk factors of CASHD. The risk factors specifically included smoking, hypertension, elevated cholesterol levels, dDiabetes mMellitus and obesity. Identifying three 3 or less risk factors was regarded as a poor knowledge level of knowledge, and whereas identifying four 4 or more risk factors was regarded as a good knowledge level of knowledge. A multiple logistic regression model was used to isolate independent demographic markers predictive of a participant’s level of