Sex differences in symptom presentation associated with acute myocardial infarction: a population-based perspective
Authors
Goldberg, Robert J.O'Donnell, Caitlin
Yarzebski, Jorge L.
Bigelow, Carol
Savageau, Judith A.
Gore, Joel M.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular MedicineDepartment of Family Medicine and Community Health
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
1998-08-01Keywords
AgedCause of Death
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Humans
Male
Massachusetts
Middle Aged
Myocardial Infarction
Odds Ratio
Pain
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Patient Admission
Sex Factors
Cardiovascular Diseases
Community Health
Preventive Medicine
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
OBJECTIVES: To describe sex differences in symptom presentation after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) while controlling for differences in age and other potentially confounding factors. BACKGROUND: Although several studies have examined sex differences in diagnosis, management, and survival after AMI, limited data exist about possible sex differences in symptom presentation in the setting of AMI. METHODS: Community-based study of patients hospitalized with confirmed AMI in all 16 metropolitan Worcester, Mass., hospitals (1990 census population = 437,000). Men (n = 810) and women (n = 550) hospitalized with validated AMI in 1986 and 1988 comprised the study sample. RESULTS: After simultaneously controlling for age, medical history, and AMI characteristics through regression modeling, men were significantly less likely to complain of neck pain (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.35, 0.78), back pain (OR = 0.38; 95% CI: 0.26, 0.56), jaw pain (OR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.31, 0.81), and nausea (O.R. = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.75) than women. Conversely, men were significantly more likely to report diaphoresis (OR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.61) than women. There were no statistically significant sex differences in complaints of chest pain though men were more likely to complain of this symptom. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this population-based observational study suggest differences in symptom presentation in men and women hospitalized with AMI. These findings have implications for public and health care provider education concerning recognition of sex differences in AMI-related symptoms and health care seeking behaviors.Source
Am Heart J. 1998 Aug;136(2):189-95. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1053/hj.1998.v136.88874Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/30988PubMed ID
9704678Related Resources
Link to article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1053/hj.1998.v136.88874