Association of physician's sex with risk factor control in treated hypertensive patients from Swedish primary healthcare.
OBJECTIVE
To study the association of physician's sex with blood pressure, lipid control, and cardiovascular risk factors in treated hypertensive men and women, stratified for the sex of their physician.


METHODS
In a cross-sectional survey of hypertensive patients, 264 primary care physicians (PCPs), 187 men and 77 women from across Sweden, recruited 6537 treated hypertensive patients (48% men) during 2002-2005, consecutively collected from medical records and registered on a web-based form connected to a central database. Patients were included consecutively in the same order as they visited the healthcare centre.


RESULTS
Hypertensive women more often reached target systolic/diastolic blood pressure levels (<140/90 mmHg) when treated by female PCPs than when they were treated by male PCPs (32 vs. 24%, P < 0.001). This difference remained when comparing female and male physicians' nondiabetic female patients. Both male and female patients had better control of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels when treated by female PCPs than when treated by male PCPs (total cholesterol <5 mmol/l: women 30 vs. 24%, P < 0.001; men 42 vs. 34%, P < 0.001; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol <3 mmol/l: women 39 vs. 33%, P < 0.01; men 41 vs. 35%, P < 0.05). Female PCPs had a higher proportion of treated hypertensive patients with diabetes than did male PCPs but male PCPs had a higher prevalence of treated hypertensive men with microalbuminuria compared with female PCPs.


CONCLUSIONS
Female physicians appeared more often to reach the treatment goal for blood pressure in female patients and cholesterol levels in all patients than did male physicians.
Journath
Gunilla
G
Department of Medicine, Clinical Epidemiology unit, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Stockholm, Sweden. gunilla.journath@ki.se
Hellénius
Mai-Lis
ML
Manhem
Karin
K
Kjellgren
Karin I
KI
Nilsson
Peter M
PM
D000368:Aged; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000188:drug therapy; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010821:Physicians, Family; D010822:Physicians, Women; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012737:Sex Factors; D013548:Sweden; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents