the department of medicine, Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Me

We found sex differences in the pattern of relative strength when riskfactor associations with death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) were evaluated across different periods of follow-up. In women, an increased risk in CVD-related death was associated with diabetes mellitus and smoking; this risk was most prominent in the early follow-up period. Our finding illustrates that clinicians should employ more intense preventive measures in women who are smokers or have diabetes.