Women catch up with men on heart disease

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Researchers in California have found that women in their 60s have just as much risk for heart disease as men, and many are worse off by their 70s.

Demographers at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles conducted the research, the results of which contrast with a decade ago, when men were shown to have more risk factors.

The findings are published in the current issue of the Journal of Women's Health.

The study found that women's risk for heart disease is still lower than men's during middle age. However, the point at which women catch up with men now appears to be around age 60, which is younger than previous studies indicated.

"Women are no longer protected from heart disease risk relative to men," said Eileen Crimmins, corresponding author and professor in USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. "Reports indicating that men are more likely to have more high-risk levels of blood pressure and cholesterol are no longer true in the U.S. population over 60 years of age."

Crimmins and her colleagues examined cardiovascular changes in men and women over 40 between 1988 and 2002.