Prevention of coronary heart disease and osteoporosis in women aged 45 to 49 years: a challenging role for general practitioners

Objective: Part of the risks for coronary heart disease (CHD) and osteoporosis in women are established by their lifestyle in the premenopausal period. Therefore, we assessed the risk of women aged 45 to 49 years for CHD and osteoporosis and its relation with socioeconomic status (SES) and access to general practitioners (GPs) to provide clues for prevention. Methods: The health interview data used for this study originated from the second Dutch National Survey of General Practice, a study with a response rate of 64.5%. We studied SES, risk factors for CHD and osteoporosis, and access to GPs in women aged 45 to 49 years. Results: The data of 571 women aged 45 to 49 years were included. A total of 39% had an increased risk for developing CHD in the next 10 years, and 3% had a high risk. A total of 22% had an increased risk for osteoporosis. We found a significant relation between SES and unhealthy lifestyle. An unhealthy lifestyle led to an increased or high risk for CHD, and a high osteoporosis risk. We did not find a significant relation between SES and GP consultation frequency. Conclusions: Special attention is required for women with the lowest SES because they have an unhealthier lifestyle than do women with middle or the highest SES. The group of women at higher risk for CHD and osteoporosis consulted their GP with the same frequency as did women at lower risk. The Dutch GP seems to be in an ideal position to play a role in the prevention of CHD and osteoporosis in premenopausal women because access to GPs is not influenced by SES.