Running the Numbers: Women and Cholesterol Awareness

08/22/07 Living Well, Prevention, Research, Disease Basics, General

More than half (56.8 percent) of the 18 to 44 year old women surveyed are concerned that high cholesterol will be a health concern during their lifetime and almost half (48.0 percent) are actively trying to manage their cholesterol, yet only 21.1 percent know their own cholesterol level. Only half (51.7 percent) of the women surveyed had ever had a cholesterol test and one-quarter (25.9 percent) did not even know how cholesterol is tested.

"Heart disease is a serious threat to women. That fact that only one in five women surveyed knew their cholesterol level shows how much work remains to be done," said Phyllis Greenberger, president and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research. "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 results of the telephone survey of 524 women, showed that among respondents between the ages of 18 and 44:

• Only 13.9 percent knew their LDL ('bad') cholesterol level;
• Only 12.0 percent knew their HDL ('good') cholesterol level;
• Almost three-quarters (74.3 percent) did not know their total cholesterol level, LDL level, HDL level, or triglyceride (blood fat) level;
• 44.0 percent were surprised that cholesterol levels naturally increase with age; and
• 42.5 percent knew that atherosclerosis was hardening of the arteries; 37.9 percent thought it was loss of bone density; and 23.0 percent thought it was curvature of the spine.

"Clearly, 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," Greenberger said. "Knowing your cholesterol number is the first step in managing cholesterol. That number is certainly more important than what you weighed in high school."