The Study
Assessing Sex Differences in the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality per Increment in Systolic Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Follow-Up Studies in the United States
This study looked at lots of past research about people’s blood pressure and heart problems and found that when blood pressure goes up, heart problems are more likely—but it didn’t make people change their blood pressure, so we can’t say high blood pressure definitely causes the problems. It just shows they often happen together.
Analysis score
Maximum 85 for a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Where the score came from
This study looked at many past studies to see if rising blood pressure affects men and women’s hearts differently.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 539 / 100
Quality score
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of cohort studies. They sit above a single cohort study but below a single randomized trial, because the underlying evidence is still observational.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — even small rises in blood pressure raise heart disease risk more for women than men, but both sexes face similar risks of dying from it.
- 2For every 10 mm Hg rise in blood pressure, women’s risk of heart disease goes up 25%, men’s goes up 15%.
- 3But for heart death, both go up about 16–17% — no big difference.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
PLoS ONE
Year
2017
Authors
Yu-Chung Wei, N. George, Ching-Wei Chang, K. Hicks
Related Content
Claims (6)
When systolic blood pressure rises by 20 mm Hg, the risk of dying from heart or blood vessel disease doubles, and this increased risk starts even at blood pressure levels as low as 115 mm Hg.
For every 10 mmHg rise in systolic blood pressure, the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease increases by 16% in women and 17% in men, and the increase is similar between the two sexes when accounting for age and initial blood pressure levels.
The link between higher systolic blood pressure and increased risk of cardiovascular disease differs in strength across different studies in the U.S., and these differences are partly explained by variations in age and initial blood pressure levels.
In people with high blood pressure, the link between blood pressure levels and developing cardiovascular disease is stronger in women than in men, but this difference does not exist for deaths from cardiovascular disease.
For every 10 mmHg rise in systolic blood pressure, women have a 25% higher risk of cardiovascular disease and men have a 15% higher risk, with women showing a 10% greater increase in risk compared to men after accounting for age and initial blood pressure levels.
Studies that combine data on systolic blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk show different results depending on which groups are included, and large studies of women can shift the overall findings in a way that does not reflect the true relationship in men or women separately.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.