Hispanic women are less aware of weight and heart disease risk

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

2-Jan-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, January 2, 2014Minority women tend to be less aware of the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) they face by being overweight or obese. The results of a study that compared Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women based on their knowledge of heart disease risk factors and their perceptions of their own weight is published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jwh.

Elsa-Grace Giardina, MD and coauthors, Columbia University Medical Center (New York, NY), report that although awareness of CVD and recognition that heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the U.S has increased, knowledge of these risk factors still remains low among minority women, making prevention efforts more difficult. The authors compared how women estimate their weight and view their risk of heart disease and present their findings in the article "Cardiovascular Disease Knowledge and Weight Perception Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Women."

"Based on these findings, prevention strategies need to target CVD knowledge and awareness among overweight and obese Hispanic women," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health.

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About the Journal

Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. The Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women's healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jwh. Journal of Women's Health is the Official Journal of the Academy of Women's Health and the Society for Women's Health Research.

About the Academy

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Hispanic women are less aware of weight and heart disease risk