The Impact of Gender Differences on Healthy Lifestyle and its Subscales Among Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the major causes of death and disability all over the world. The increasing prevalence of CAD as well as its high economic cost makes it a serious health problem in Iran. Objectives The study aimed to evaluate the impact of gender differences on healthy lifestyle measures among patients with CAD. Patients and Methods In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 412 patients with CAD (239 men and 173 women) were selected between January 2015 and June 2015. Data were collected by demographic characteristic forms and a healthy lifestyle questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS software with appropriate statistical tests. Results There was no significant difference in age, blood pressure, and cholesterol between the two genders (P = 0.573, P = 0.092, P = 0.438). Men were more educated than women (P = 0.000), and had higher levels of low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein (P = 0.000). The mean of healthy lifestyle scores was 19.2 ± 4.2 for the men and 18.8 ± 3.2 for the women. Overall, there was no significant difference between two genders in healthy lifestyle scores (P = 0.342). However, among the healthy lifestyle subscales, women had healthier nutrition (P = 0.000) and were less inclined to smoke and drink than men (P = 0.000). Men had more physical activity (P = 0.000), more health responsibility (P = 0.000), and more health-based purchases (P = 0.000). There was no significant difference between the two genders in stress management (P = 0.272). Conclusions The results indicated that the patients’ lifestyles were unhealthy overall. However, tendency towards healthy behaviors was different between men and women. Therefore, it is important and necessary to emphasize gender differences in prevention and health promotion programs.