title: Application of national screening criteria for blood pressure and cholesterol to perimenopausal women: prevalence of hypertension and hypercholesterolemia in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.
abstract: National screening guidelines for hypertension and cholesterol were applied to the multiethnic sample of perimenopausal women (N = 1349) in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). To reduce low-density lipoprotein, lifestyle modification was indicated in 9.5% of patients and drug therapy in 5%. Chinese and Japanese women were least likely and African Americans were most likely to require interventions. Among all women, 27% were prehypertensive, 23% were hypertensive (blood pressure >140/90 mm Hg or treated), and 9.1% were untreated hypertensive. Untreated hypertension was lowest among Japanese and Chinese and highest among Hispanic and African-American women. Among all hypertensives, 60.5% were treated and only 58.5% of those treated were controlled. Control rates were lowest among African Americans and Hispanics. In this relatively low-risk population, a significant proportion of women with hypertension or hypercholesterolemia were either not treated, not treated adequately, or had borderline risk factors that would benefit from lifestyle interventions to prevent the need for future drug treatment.
authors.affiliation: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. cderby@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: Carol A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Derby
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: FitzGerald
authors.forename: Norman L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Lasser
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Pasternak
mesh_terms: D001213:Asian; D044383:Black People; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000592:standards*; D008875:Middle Aged; D047648:Perimenopause; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People; D016387:Women's Health; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol