Gender-based treatment for mitigating the cardiovascular risk factors related to diabetes may be necessary, according to recent study.
Previous studies have shown that women with Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol are less likely than their male peers to reach treatment goals to lower their bad cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
"The findings suggest the need for gender-based evaluation and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors in these patients," Dr. Pendar Farahani, researcher from Queens University, said in a statement. "We need further study into the gender disparities to tailor drug interventions and we need to increase the inclusion of women in clinical trials."
For the study, Dr. Farahani included nearly equal numbers of men and women (101 and 97) in the study. The average age of participants was 65 years for men and 63 years for women. All patients had Type 2 diabetes and had filled prescriptions for statin medication to treat high cholesterol between 2003 and 2004.
Researchers found that with treatment only 64 percent of women lowered their LDL cholesterol to the recommended level compared with 81 percent of men. Research has shown women have poorer adherence to taking their statin medication to treat high cholesterol, perhaps due to somewhat dissimilar pharmacological properties in a woman's body than a man's. For example, women often have more side effects such as muscle pain, explains Dr. Farahani.
"The finding that women were not able to lower their so-called bad cholesterol sufficiently is a concern," Farahani said. "Women with diabetes have a considerably higher rate of cardiovascular-related illness and death than men with diabetes. This pattern is likely related to poorer control of cardiovascular risk factors."
Researchers also found that access to medication is not responsible for this difference. All patients, who were in a database from pharmacies in four Canadian provinces, had social insurance and could afford their medications.
The findings were presented on Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and The Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago.
