Gender Difference in Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Factors and Scores among Health Workers: A Cross-sectional Study Based on the Cohort Study of Iran

Abstract Background: The guidelines have recommended that atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk factors should be calculated based on different subgroups, including age and gender. Therefore, our study aimed to clarify the gender difference in cardiovascular disease risk factors and scores. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional cohort-based study was conducted on 2842 employees aged 40–70 years from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. For evaluating risk score, the ASCVD risk score estimator was employed for predicting the 10-year risk. T -test and Chi-square test were used for analyzing the data. The P < 0.05 was considered a significant level. Results: The mean age was 46.25 ± 4.98 years and 1584 (55.7%) were women. The study found that 8 (0.6%) men were at high risk, 140 (11.1%), 162 (12.9%), and 948 (75.4%) were at intermediate, borderline, and low risk, respectively, while no women were at high risk, and 6 (0.4%), 16 (1%), and 1,562 (98.6%) were at intermediate, borderline, and low risk, respectively. In addition, there was significant difference between both genders in terms of ASCVD risk score ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our results revealed that men were significantly more prone to ASCVD, while women were at lower risk. It seems that women, as healthcare providers, have paid more attention to their health and preventive programs. Hence, to address primary prevention, this issue can be considered.