Diabetes mellitus, hypertriglyceridemia, and heart disease risk in women.
Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death in men and women in developed countries. Three primary risk factors--high serum cholesterol concentration, hypertension, and cigarette smoking--are known to increase the risk in both men and women more or less equally, although the latter two risk factors are a somewhat greater risk to men. This paper reviews two additional risk factors whose impact may be greater in women: diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia. Understanding how diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia act differently in women may explain some of the sex differences in the risk of heart disease.
Barrett-Connor
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Department of Community and Family Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012727:Sex Characteristics