JCL Roundtable: Gender differences in risk reduction with lifestyle changes

The first efforts to uncover the causes of cardiovascular disease focused on the behavioral, now called lifestyle habits of populations. Diet, exercise, and smoking were recognized as important issues with strong relationships in community-based observational studies such as the Seven Countries study, the Framingham Heart Study, and the Western Electric Study in Chicago. The first meaningful intervention in the United States was the dietary recommendations made by the American Heart Association in 1963 and the Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health in 1964. The American public listened and a very large change occurred in food consumption data and cigarette smoking over the next decade. These changes were mainly focused on men because the incidence of myocardial infarction was much higher in middle aged and older men than women. As smoking prevalence has decreased in men and increased in women and the population has aged, the differences in major vascular events have virtually disappeared. Women still enjoy a longer period of low rates but eventually the incidence rates approach those of men. As we constantly attempt to demonstrate ways of reducing risk by improved lifestyle it behooves us to re-evaluate the potential differences in gender response and adjust our expectations accordingly as clinicians.