Women's health study findings

Jun 16 2004

AllPoints Research today announced the results of a women's health study regarding behavior and perception about sexual and cardiovascular health by women aged 40 and older. Sexual health findings include:

• Most married women over age 40 whose partners take an erectile dysfunction drug, such as Viagra, welcome the effects of the drug.
• Most women over 40 whose partners take an erectile dysfunction drug have also experienced decreased libido at some point in their lives, but most have not discussed their own sexual health concerns -- vaginal dryness, decreased libido and/or painful intercourse -- with their doctors. However, married women whose partners are taking an erectile dysfunction drug are much more likely to talk to their doctors about their own concerns than those whose husbands do not.
• Married women and women living with their partners are more likely to have experienced decreased libido than single, divorced or widowed women.
• Doctors are most likely to talk to single women aged 40 to 45 about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, but those women are also the group least likely to discuss HIV, STDs or their sexual history with their partners. Cardiovascular health findings include:
• Women in this age range are now aware that heart disease is the #1 killer of women. This is a change from women's perceptions just a few years ago when they believed that breast cancer killed more women.
• Women tend not to be aware of what blood pressure numbers mean -- whether they're good or bad -- even those women who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure.
• Women with heart disease are more likely to smoke than those with high blood pressure.

For more information on the study's findings, specific data and methodologies contact Tamara McLendon at 336.574.0304 x12 or visit the AllPoints Web site ( http://www.allpointsresearch.com ).