Simple measures for stratifying postmenopausal women into groups at high and low risk of dying

From 1990 to 1992, demographics, lifestyle measures, prevalent disease, medication use, anthropometrics, vital signs, and physical function were determined in 17748 postmenopausal women in order to assess the association of these factors with mortality using proportional hazards modelling. During the 9 years of follow-up, the relative hazard (RH) of death was approximately 1.5 per 5 years of age, 1.4 for a history of heart disease, and 1.9 for a history of breast cancer. Modifiable risk factors associated with mortality included current smoking (RH=3.7), systolic blood pressure (RH=1.3), elevated waist-hip ratio, a surrogate marker of central adiposity (RH=1.3), and physical deconditioning as reflected by poor results on the timed Up and Go Test (RH=1.7), obesity being associated with a lower mortality (RH=0.7). Clinical trials still need to assess whether modifications in these factors following intervention trials also affect mortality.

Abstract