Background:

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women, particularly postmenopausal. Metabolic and social gender differences influence lipid profiles and cardiovascular risk. In Mexico, factors such as obesity, diabetes, hormonal contraceptive use, and limited healthcare access exacerbate this issue.

Objective:

To describe the lipid profile of Mexican women with high and very high cardiovascular risk, and compare it to that of men.

Material and methods:

A cross-sectional study from the REMEXDIS (Mexican Registry of Dyslipidemia) cohort. Clinical, demographic, and biochemical variables were analyzed in 17,532 patients (9536 women). Statistical tests were applied to identify sex-related differences.

Results:

Women had a higher body mass index and a lower rate of suspected familial hypercholesterolemia. Men had significantly higher levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose. However, women were more frequently classified as very high cardiovascular risk (59.44% vs. 35.90%; p = 0.01). Notably, 48.36% of dyslipidemic women were previously undiagnosed.

Conclusions:

Mexican women with cardiovascular risk exhibit distinct clinical and metabolic characteristics compared to men. These findings highlight the importance of gender-specific strategies for prevention, diagnosis, and management of cardiovascular disease in women.