Having
a Job Helps Heart Health in African-American Women
Study
comparing employment to homemaking finds no benefit for Caucasians
It
is widely believed that one reason men die sooner than women is because
of the stress working for a living puts on their hearts. 
The
opposite may be true for African-American women, new research has found.
The
study says African-American women who work outside of the home are less
likely to have a heart attack than African-American women who are homemakers.
Interestingly,
the same connection between employment and protection against heart
attacks was not found among Caucasian women, however.
Researchers
are not exactly sure why this is, but it is possible that African-American
women benefit even more from employment than Caucasian women because
African-American women tend to start out with less financially, says
April Perry, lead investigator on the study and a doctoral candidate
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Better
finances from working could give African-American women greater access
to medical care. African-American women who work might also have greater
social support than African-American women who stay at home. Previous
research has shown strong social relationships can help ward off heart
disease.
The
study was presented at a recent American Heart Association annual conference
on cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention in Miami.
Perry
and her colleagues analyzed health and employment information of 6,855
women aged 45 to 64 taking part in a study of 16,000 middle-aged people
called Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities. About 26 percent of the
women were homemakers and 74 percent had jobs at the time.
During
the next 11 years, 302 women had a "coronary event," including
fatal and nonfatal heart attacks and surgical procedures to clear blockages
in the heart.
After
adjusting for age and socioeconomic status, researchers found that African-American
homemakers were twice as likely as employed women to have a coronary
event. There was no statistically significant difference among Caucasian
homemakers or workers.
Risk
Factors Have Large Impact
One
of the reasons for the difference is that African-American homemakers
had more physical risk factors for heart disease than African-American
women with jobs. African-American homemakers had higher rates of hypertension
and diabetes, higher body mass indexes, higher cholesterol, and were
more likely to smoke and drink alcohol, known risk factors for heart
disease.
Even
after controlling for those factors, African-American working women
still had a 33 percent less risk of a coronary event than African-American
homemakers. While the difference was not statistically significant from
a research perspective, Perry says is still bears a closer look.
"More
studies are needed looking at the employment situation of women, and
physicians need to make sure that there is monitoring of the risk factors
among these homemaking women," Perry says.
Richard
A. Stein, a professor of clinical medicine at Cornell Medical Center
and chief of cardiology at Brooklyn Hospital Center, both in New York,
calls the study results "intriguing."
However,
Stein, an American Heart Association spokesman, says discussing the
reasons why is "pure speculation." African-American women
with jobs might get more exercise than homemakers. Employed women might
have more money to buy healthier foods."
"All
I can say is that concerns that African-American women in the workplace
are going to have a higher incidence of heart disease because of the
demands of juggling the responsibilities of home and job are not borne
out by this study," he says.
Perry
acknowledges that one weakness of the research is that the employment
information was limited to whether or not the women were working at
the time of the study. It is unknown if their employment status changed
during the 11 years they were followed.
Women
are expected to make up just under half of the US labor force by 2010,
Perry says.
"These
findings should encourage additional research into the labor force experience
of women and how these experiences may affect their cardiovascular health,"
Perry says.
Always
consult your physician for more information.
Online
Resources
American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American
Heart Association
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
National
Institutes of Health
National
Women's Health Information Center
US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
|
April
2003
In
This Issue:
Study
Comparing Employment to Homemaking Finds No Benefit For Caucasians
Risk
Factors Have Large Impact
Lower-Dose
Version of HRT Drug Approved
New
Resource on Dangers of Synthetic Estrogen
Online
Resources
Other
Resources:
Find
a St. John's Mercy Physician
Women's
Services at St. John's Mercy
Women's
Health Information Module
St.
John's Mercy Classes and Programs
In
Other Women's Health News:
Lower-Dose
Version of HRT Drug Approved
Prempro treats menopausal symptoms
In
the wake of last fall's study that found a link between hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) and a higher risk of cancer and heart disease, the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a lower-dose version
of the popular drug Prempro.
The
combination of hormones is commonly used to treat menopausal symptoms,
including hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. When compared
to the traditional composition of Prempro, the new formulation includes
28 percent less estrogen (0.45 mg.) and 40 percent less progestin
(1.5 mg), the drug's two active ingredients.
Both
formulations are produced by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which says it
began work on the lower-dose formula years before the results of last
fall's study were announced. The new formula was tested in a multi-center
trial of 2,805 healthy postmenopausal women between the ages of 40
and 65.
The
company says it expects the new product will be available in the United
States in early summer.
Always
consult your physician for more information.
New
Resource on Dangers of Synthetic Estrogen
Web site
has information about DES, once used to prevent miscarriage, premature
delivery
There
is a new resource for people seeking information about diethylstilbestrol
(DES) exposure and how it may affect them, their family and friends.
The
DES Update Web site, created by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), offers a self-assessment guide for people who think
they may have been exposed to DES, along with information about health
risks associated with exposure to DES, a synthetic estrogen.
The
site also provides DES case studies, presentations, and self-study
materials for physicians and other healthcare professionals.
DES
was once prescribed to prevent miscarriages or premature delivery.
An estimated five million to 10 million people in the United States
were exposed to DES between 1938 and 1971.
In
1971, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised physicians
to stop prescribing DES to pregnant women because it had been linked
to a rare vaginal cancer in girls and young women exposed to DES in
the womb.
Additional
research found an increased risk of breast cancer for women prescribed
DES while they were pregnant. Women exposed to DES in the womb have
lifelong increased risks of rare vaginal and cervical cancer, reproductive
complications, and infertility.
Men
who were exposed to DES in the womb are at increased risk for noncancerous
cysts on the testicles.
Always
consult your physician for more information
|
