Women's cardiovascular and sexual risk factors across the United States, United Kingdom, and France

This study examines selected cardiovascular and sexual risk factors in women of the United States, United Kingdom, and France by secondary analysis of a large, three nation data set. It describes and tests for differences in the presence of absence of selected cardiovascular and sexual risk factors in men and women. It tests if selected role, demographic, attitudinal, knowledge, and emotion-focused variables predict the presence or absence of cardiovascular and sexual risk factors and if women in specific roles or role combinations display more cardiovascular or sexual risk factors. A stratified, random sample of 6089 subjects collected by Project Hope, Inc. using in-home interview schedules and self-report questionnaires was used. 1288 men and 674 women from the United States, 1137 men and 696 women from the United Kingdom, and 1506 men and 788 women from France participated. Univariate tests demonstrate that women differed significantly from men on the amount and type of cardiovascular and sexual risk factors present. In the total sample, there were differences between countries in the proportion of subjects with cardiovascular or sexual risk factors. Women did not differ by country on the proportion of subjects displaying cardiovascular risk factors. Loglinear models were constructed to identify significant predictor variables of the presence or absence of cardiovascular or sexual risk factors in women. Role variables of marital status, associate of a person with AIDS, and educational cardiovascular or sexual risk behaviors. To examine the effects of multiple roles on risk factors, odds ratios were computed. Working mothers had a significantly lower risk of displaying cardiovascular risk factors than non-working mothers. Working, married mothers were found to have lower risk of having sexual risk factors than non-working, married mothers. The data are useful to those engaged in program planning or behavioral interventions that require population estimates for comparison purposes. The study provides evidence that roles are related to cardiovascular and sexual risk behavior in women and that women should be studied as an independent group. Further work is recommended to redefine the variables used to construct the models.