[Risk factors for premature coronary disease in women].

Introduction: Coronary disease is the leading cause of death in women, and consequently, identification of cardiovascular risk factors must be a priority. Recent studies have linked pregnancy disturbances and coronary disease, but this hypothesis has remained unproved in Hispanic women.

Objective: The association of traditional risk factors and pregnancy disturbances with coronary heart disease was assessed in a sample of women with premature coronary disease.

Materials And Methods: The case control study included only women <55 years old, who had undergone a coronary angiography. Two hundred women were included, 100 without and 100 with coronary disease, and with mean ages of 46.5±4.3 and 49.5±3.7 years, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between risk factors and coronary disease. Crude and multivariate adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

Results: Univariate analysis showed an association between coronary disease and the past medical history of preeclampsia, premature delivery, low birth weight, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and smoking habit. Logistic regression analysis showed an association of premature delivery (OR=6.0, 95%CI 2.3-15.0, p<0.01), hypercholesterolemia (OR=4.1, 95%CI 2.1-7.8, p<0.01) and smoking habit (OR=1.7, 95%Ci 0.9-3.2, p=0.08). The practice of regular physical activity was identified as a protection factor (OR=0.5, 95%CI 0.3-1.0, p=0.04).

Conclusion: Pregnancy disturbances and traditional risk factors were related to an increased risk of coronary artery disease in a Hispanic population of women with premature coronary disease.