title: Gender differences in quality of life perception and cardiovascular risk in a community sample.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Self-reported heath and quality of life is an independent predictor of overall and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and incident coronary heart disease. However, less is known regarding how gender differences in cardiovascular risk factors impact quality of life perception.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary healthcare users (n=261, 158 women) were screened for cardiovascular risk factors and completed the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women had significantly lower alcohol consumption, body mass index and exercise frequency than men, but more prevalent psychiatric history, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and negative affectivity. Prevalences of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and type D personality were similar between genders. Women reported significantly worse quality of life on most SF-36 subscales and gender differences were apparent in predictors of quality of life. Moreover, high negative affectivity was an independent predictor of worse general health for women, whereas high social inhibition and high anxiety had a comparable role for men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gender specifics in cardiovascular risk factors should be considered in prevention strategies. Women reported significantly worse quality of life, putting them at higher risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Therefore, gender differences in predictors of quality of life warrant further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Investigação & Desenvolvimento Cardiovascular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: joanappr@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prata
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Amadeu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Quelhas Martins
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Investigação & Desenvolvimento Cardiovascular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sónia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Investigação & Desenvolvimento Cardiovascular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rocha-Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Departamento de Neurociências Clínicas e Saúde Mental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coelho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003327:Coronary Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Cardiovascular risk factors; Especificidades de género; Fatores de risco cardiovascular; Gender; Qualidade de vida; Quality of life; Saúde auto-relatada; Self-reported health