A new study suggests that women and men share a majority of the same risk factors for stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
This large international study is the first to not only include individuals from high income countries, but also middle and low income countries, where the burden of cardiovascular diseases are the greatest.
The study assessed risk factors including such things as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, diet, mental health and economic status.
The study group involved 156,000 individuals without a history of cardiovascular disease between the ages of 35 and 70, across 21 low, middle and high income countries on five continents.
Those involved were monitored for an average of 10 years.
First author of the study, Marian Walli-Attaei, says: ““Women and men have similar CVD risk factors, which emphasises the importance of a similar strategy for the prevention of CVD in men and women”.
The study found that overall women had a lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than men, especially at younger ages.
Furthermore, it was found that diet was more strongly associated with cardiovascular disease risk in women.
Lead investigator of the study, Salim Yusuf, says: “something that’s not been previous described, and which requires independent confirmation.”
However, depression symptoms and high levels of bad cholesterol, were more strongly associated with cardiovascular disease risk in men rather than women.
The patterns of these discoveries were generally similar in high, middle and low income countries.
