Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine sex differences in serum lipids and systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP, respectively) .The subjects were divided into 4 groups : subjects who were neither drinkers not smokers (A Group), were smokers but were not drinkers (B Group), were drinkers but were not smokers (C Group), and smokers and drinkers (D Group) . In the A Group, after adjusting for age, body mass index, and physical activity, women showed significantly higher total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and significantly lower triglycerides (TG), TC/ HDL-C ratio, SBP and DBP. In addition to age, body mass index, and physical activity, number of smoking and amount of alcohol intake per day were adjusted where appropriate in the B, C and D Groups. In the B Group, women showed significantly higher TC and HDL-C and significantly lower TG, TC/HDL-C ratio, SBP, and DBP. In the C and D Group, women showed significantly higher HDL-C, and significantly lower TG, TC/HDL-C, SBP, and DBP. These results indicate that women show more favorable serum lipids and blood pressure than men, however, the differences were more pronounced in A Group and were diminished with smoking and drinking habits.
