Survey: Women of All Ages Have Poor Understanding of Cholesterol

In an Aug. 21 press release, the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) announced the results of a telephone survey of 524 women regarding their knowledge of cholesterol. The survey was conducted over a three-day period; the survey respondents were women between the ages of 18 and 44.

Overall, the survey results indicate that, although women express concern about high cholesterol and heart disease, their efforts to monitor and control their cholesterol level is very lacking. The survey data was consistent with a current national trend that indicates women of all ages have a poor understanding of cholesterol.

In terms of actual numbers, the tallied survey responses found that 57 percent of the respondents said they are concerned that their cholesterol level will become a health problem at some point in their life, and nearly half of these women are actively trying to control their cholesterol. However, just 21 percent of them knew their cholesterol level.

Also interesting was the fact that only half of the respondents in the survey had ever had their cholesterol level checked, and 25 percent of them didn't even know how cholesterol tests were done.

In American women, heart disease is the leading cause of death. However, women tend to believe that breast cancer is the more serious threat to their lives. Again, in terms of numbers, 47 percent of the women surveyed said they were worried about heart disease, but nearly 60 percent said they worried more about getting breast cancer. Further, half of the women said they were surprised to learn that heart attacks kill six times more women than breast cancer.

Phyllis Greenberger is the president and CEO of the SWHR. She said: "Heart disease is a serious threat to women. That fact that only one in five women surveyed knew their current cholesterol level shows how much work remains to be done. You can't wait until mid-life or later to monitor and manage your cholesterol level, which is a major risk factor for heart disease in both women and men."

The survey also tested the women's knowledge of "good" and "bad" cholesterol and found that half of the women did not know that HDL was the "bad" cholesterol. A surprising 38 percent said they thought blood pressure was a factor in determining one's cholesterol level. About 36 percent of the respondents also did not know that people who eat a healthy diet and regularly exercise can have dangerous cholesterol levels.

In evaluating the survey data, Greenberger said that it's clear "we've got a long way to go in educating women from their college years to their mid-40s about the risks of high cholesterol and the importance of tracking cholesterol throughout adulthood. Knowing your cholesterol number is the first step in managing cholesterol. That number is certainly more important than what you weighed in high school."

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), September is National Cholesterol Education Month. The theme of Cholesterol Month 2007 is "Know your cholesterol numbers - Know your risk - Give yourself some TCL." NHLBI is providing an online kit that includes information on cholesterol intended to help what the institute says are 65 million American adults with high blood cholesterol numbers.

The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) recommends that everyone age 20 and older should have their cholesterol level tested at least once every 5 years, including a blood test called a lipoprotein profile to find out the actual cholesterol numbers. This blood test requires a 9 to 12 hour fast and will break down four areas: total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Sources:

Press Release, Young Women Claim Concern, But Demonstrate Ignorance about Cholesterol; http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/532645/

NHLBI; http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/cholmonth/

NCEP; http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/wyntk.htm