Table 4.
Variables to consider in studies of woman’s cardiovascular disease and risk
| General risk factors | Information to capture |
| Age | |
| Height/weight | BMI |
| Waist circumference | |
| Smoking status | Prior, current |
| History of hypertension | Blood pressure |
| Blood lipids (HDL, LDL, triglycerides) | |
| Diabetes, glucose, insulin, | |
| Inflammation: hsCRP | |
| History of chronic inflammatory disease | (Asthma, inflammatory rheumatologic disease, migraine, inflammatory bowel disease) |
| Prior cancer | Type (breast, etc), chest radiation, chemotherapy |
| Prior CVD | Angina, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disease, coronary revascularization procedures, peripheral arterial disease, heart failure |
| Sex-specific or less conventional risk factors | |
| Pregnancy-related variables | Questions to ascertain information |
| Parity | Number of pregnancies lasting >20 weeks |
| Fetal deaths | Number of miscarriages <20 weeks, stillbirths |
| History of preeclampsia | Have you ever had preeclampsia or toxemia? |
| History of gestational hypertension | Have you ever had gestational hypertension (pregnancy-related high blood pressure or pregnancy-induced hypertension)? |
| History of gestational diabetes | Have you ever had gestational diabetes (new onset diabetes of pregnancy)? |
| Offspring birthweight and gestation length (when assessed together, this allows calculation of small-for-gestational age and large-for-gestational age) | Birthweight of each child (lbs and ounces) and gestation length: |
| Low birthweight | Have you ever delivered an infant weighing less than 5 lbs 8 oz (less than 2500 g)? |
| Macrosomia (indicative of gestational diabetes) | Have you ever delivered an infant weighing more than 10 lbs (more than 4500 g)? |
| Menopause-related variables | Questions to ascertain information |
| Menopausal status | Have your natural menstrual periods ceased permanently? (No; Yes—no menstrual periods; Yes—had menopause but now periods induced by hormones; Not sure) |
| At what age did natural periods stop? | |
| For what reason? (natural; surgical; radiation or chemotherapy; others) | |
| Did you have a hysterectomy, if so at what age | |
| Did you have removal of ovary (unilateral or bilateral) and if so, at what age | |
| Current use of hormones | Are you currently using: |
| - Oral contraceptives, | |
| - Transdermal hormone therapy | |
| - Vaginal hormone therapy | |
| Have you ever used these therapies? | |
| Menstrual regularity | What is the current usual pattern of your menstrual cycles (when not pregnant, lactating, or on the pill): extremely regular (no more than 1–2 days before or after expected); very regular (within 3–4 days); regular (within 5–6 days); usually irregular; always irregular; no periods |
| Psychosocial Variables | Questions to ascertain information |
| History of violent abuse | Before age 18, did any adult in your family: |
| - Push, grab, or shove you | |
| - Kick, bite, or punch you | |
| - Hit you with something that hurt your body | |
| - Choke or burn you | |
| - Force you into sexual activity by threatening you, holding you down, or hurting you in some way when you did not want to | |
| - Physically attack you in some other way | |
| Responses: never; once; a few times; more than a few times | |
| Since age 18, has anyone (repeat above) | |
| Current depression screener | Clinical screener recommended by USPSTF: |
| - Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless? | |
| - Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things? | |
| Antidepressant use (e.g., Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Pamelor, Cymbalta) | |
| More formal screening tools include: | |
| - Beck Depression Inventory | |
| - General Health Questionnaire | |
| - Center for Epidemiologic Study Depression Scales (CES-D) | |
| - Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ 9 (Quick Depression Assessment) | |
| History of depression screener | In your lifetime, have you ever had 2 weeks or longer when nearly every day you felt sad, blue, or depressed for most of the day? |
| Did you ever tell a doctor or mental health specialist that you were feeling depressed? | |
| Has a health provider ever diagnosed you with depression? | |
| Current psychosocial stress | Short version of Cohen Perceived Stress Scale: |
| In the last month, how often have you | |
| - felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life? | |
| - felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems? | |
| - felt that things were going your way? | |
| - felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them? | |
| Reponses: never; almost never; sometimes; fairly often; very often | |