Sex Differences in Modifiable Risk Factors and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease

BACKGROUND: It is still unknown whether traditional risk factors may have a sex‐specific impact on coronary artery disease (CAD) burden. METHODS AND RESULTS: We identified 14 793 patients who underwent coronary angiography for acute coronary syndromes in the ISACS‐TC (International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndromes in Transitional Countries; Clini​calTr​ials.gov, NCT01218776) registry from 2010 to 2019. The main outcome measure was the association between traditional risk factors and severity of CAD and its relationship with 30‐day mortality. Relative risk (RR) ratios and 95% CIs were calculated from the ratio of the absolute risks of women versus men using inverse probability of weighting. Estimates were compared by test of interaction on the log scale. Severity of CAD was categorized as obstructive (≥50% stenosis) versus nonobstructive CAD. The RR ratio for obstructive CAD in women versus men among people without diabetes mellitus was 0.49 (95% CI, 0.41–0.60) and among those with diabetes mellitus was 0.89 (95% CI, 0.62–1.29), with an interaction by diabetes mellitus status of P =0.002. Exposure to smoking shifted the RR ratios from 0.50 (95% CI, 0.41–0.61) in nonsmokers to 0.75 (95% CI, 0.54–1.03) in current smokers, with an interaction by smoking status of P=0.018. There were no significant sex‐related interactions with hypercholesterolemia and hypertension. Women with obstructive CAD had higher 30‐day mortality rates than men (RR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.48–2.07). No sex differences in mortality were observed in patients with nonobstructive CAD. CONCLUSIONS: Obstructive CAD in women signifies a higher risk for mortality compared with men. Current smoking and diabetes mellitus disproportionally increase the risk of obstructive CAD in women. Achieving the goal of improving cardiovascular health in women still requires intensive efforts toward further implementation of lifestyle and treatment interventions. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clini​caltr​ials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01218776.