Abstract 12307: Differences in Outcomes Between Men and Women Enrolled in Chronic Disease Programs for Diabetes, Hypertension and Hyperlipidemia

Abstract

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) affects over 48 million women in the US and is the leading cause of death. Hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia are risk factors for the genesis of IHD in women. Disease management programs (DM) have proven effective, overall, in facilitating lifestyle change and adherence to treatment plan but little is known about the effectiveness of these programs for men versus women. The purpose of this program evaluation was to identify differences in outcomes between men and women who participated in DM programs for hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia.Between 2015 and 2019, 616 unique individuals completed one of these DM programs. Measures of height, weight, exercise minutes, sedentary lifestyle, healthy nutrition, sleep, hydration and medication adherence were taken at the first and last visit. The sample was primarily female (70%), white (76%), Married (67%), educated (93% had bachelor’s or better), and were 49.3 years old, on average. Analysis revealed that males and females differ in response to the DM programs. While there was significant decrease in BMI for all participants (p<.001), the decrease was significantly greater for males compared to females (-0.60 vs. -0.29, respectively, p<.01). While exercise minutes did not differ between males and females from pre to post measurement, males who had zero exercise minutes at pre-test increased exercise minutes post program by a significantly greater amount than females who were not exercising at pretest (p=.02). Decreases in the number of missed medication days were significantly greater for women than men (0.50 days vs. 0.17 respectively; p=.02). Interestingly, while males did decrease significantly (p=.02), the decrease in medication days missed were far more substantial for females (p<.001).Men and women differ in their response to DM programs focused on lifestyle modification. Interventions should be individualized based on sex and designed specifically for women in order to optimize outcomes.