A surprising new study finds that women in their
60s have as many risk factors for heart disease
as men, and by their 70s have more, according
to research led by demographers at the University
of Southern California.
The findings, published in the current issue
of the Journal of Women's Health, reflect a change
from previous decades when older men were at greater
risk for heart disease. Instead this research
shows over the last 10 years, older women are
doing worse, while men are doing better.
Women's risk for heart disease is still lower
than men's through middle age. But the break-even
point at which women catch up to men is now at
age 60, 10 years earlier than before.
"Women are no longer protected from heart disease
risk relative to men," said Eileen Crimmins, corresponding
author and professor in USC Leonard Davis School
of Gerontology. "Reports indicating that men are
more likely to have more high-risk levels of blood
pressure and cholesterol are no longer true in
the U.S. population over 60 years of age."
Crimmins and her colleagues examined changes
between 1988 and 2002 in indicators related to
cardiovascular disease. The research team used
data on men and women 40 and older from two broadly
representative samples of the US population, approximately
10 years apart.
Among the findings:
Heart disease remains the number one cause of
death in the U.S. Funding for the group's research
came from the National Institute on Aging.
