Physicians’ gender is associated with risk factor control in patients on antihypertensive and lipid lowering treatment

Abstract

The objective was to study gender differences in cardiovascular risk factors, lipid and blood pressure control in patients on combined lipid-lowering and antihypertensive treatment, in relation to gender of their physician. This was a cross-sectional study of 4319 patients (53% men) on lipid-lowering and antihypertensive treatment from two national surveys. Male physicians included 1643 men and 1311 women, and female physicians 605 men and 648 women. All data were collected consecutively from medical records. Women were older, had a higher systolic blood pressure (SBP), pulse pressure (PP), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), SBP≥140 mmHg, and more often isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) compared with men. Men compared with women had more often diabetes, higher cardiovascular risk (SCORE) and achieved treatment goals more often for blood pressure in non-diabetics and TC in both non-diabetics and diabetics. Both men and women in well controlled and intermediate controlled groups were more often treated by physicians of their own gender. The female diabetes patients treated by female primary healthcare physicians more often achieved treatment goals for blood pressure [SBP/diastolic blood pressure (DBP)<130/80 mmHg]. Female physicians’ male patients with diabetes more often belonged to the well controlled group. Physicians’ gender may influence the control of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in both men and women on combined antihypertensive and lipid-lowering therapy.