Reveals that coronary heart disease is actually the leading cause
of mortality among women aged 65 and older, based on a survey by Sara
Wilcox of the School of Public Health at the University of South
Carolina. Comments from Wilcox; Percentage of respondents who identified
breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death for women ages 55 to
64; What may increase vulnerability to heart disease and cancer.
By
Amanda Druckman, published on November 01, 1999
WOMEN
Pop quiz: What disease are elderly women most at risk for developing?
If you said "breast cancer," you're like most women--and you're wrong. A
new study shows that women are severely uninformed about the health
concerns that they face, and that may put them in danger.
Coronary heart disease is actually the leading cause of mortality
among women aged 65 and older. In fact, women over 65 are much more likely
to die of heart disease than men in the same age group. But of 200 women
surveyed by Sara Wilcox, Ph.D., only 45% reported believing this to be
true. Of older women, the ones most likely to develop this disease, only
34% responded that this was true.
"Heart disease has historically been viewed as a 'man's disease' by
the lay and medical communities," says Wilcox, an assistant professor of
exercise science in the School of Public Health at the University of South
Carolina. "The image of heart disease as a women's issue has not been
widely portrayed in the media, perhaps because it is more a disease of
older women."
Media attention to breast cancer, however, has grown. This may
explain Wilcox's finding that 58% of respondents identified breast cancer
as the leading cause of cancer death for women ages 55 to 64, and 44%
deemed it the main cause of cancer death for women 65 to 74, even though
the true culprit for both age groups is lung cancer. (Breast cancer does
cause the most cancer deaths for women ages 45 to 54.)
Women's lack of information about their own health may increase their
vulnerability to heart disease and cancer, says Wilcox, since "feeling at
risk for a disease increases the likelihood that one will engage in
preventive or screening behaviors," especially lifestyle changes in diet
and exercise. She hopes to learn how perceptions about heart disease can be
changed--thereby reducing women's risk of developing it.
Tags:
cancer,
coronary heart disease,
elderly women,
fact women,
gender,
heart disease,
lifestyle changes,
lung cancer,
own health,
physical health,
sara wilcox,
school of public health,
university of south carolina,
women,
women ages
