Gender differences in correlations among cardiovascular risk factors

Although the clustering of a few specific cardiovascular risk factors is known as the metabolic syndrome, sex-specific differences in correlations among risk factors have not been thoroughly examined.

The analysis was undertaken to detect gender differences in correlations among cardio-vascular risk factors.

Correlations among age, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and serum levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), triglycerides (TG), high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), and uric acid were analyzed in apparently healthy Japanese men and women with TG<400 mg/dL and FBS<126 mg/dL.

Among the 136 men and 136 women examined, the frequency of significant correlations was marginally higher in women than in men: 28/45 correlations versus 17/45 correlations, respectively (P=0.017). Of a total of 45 possible correlations, 5 were marginally or significantly stronger in women, whereas no correlations among these risk factors were marginally or significantly stronger in men (P=0.021). These gender differences were considerably attenuated after adjustment for age. However, a significant sex-specific difference was observed in the correlation between TG and rank transformation of CRP, even after adjustment for age (P<0.01).

Correlations among cardiovascular risk factors were marginally stronger in women than in men. These results suggest that the existence of 1 additional risk factor may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease more steeply in women than in men.