[Fibrinogen and factor VII in women with dyslipidemia. The preliminary results of the Bellvitge-Costa de Ponent Study. The Bellvitge Study Group].

BACKGROUND: The distribution of serum fibrinogen levels and factor VII in a population of dyslipemic women and their association with other cardiovascular risk factors are herein described. METHODS: Dyslipemic women between 40-70-years of age without cardiovascular disease and with no hypolipemic treatment who attended 21 primary health care consultations were studied. The following data were collected in a questionnaire: smoking habit, high blood pressure, alcohol consumption and menopause. The analytical parameters determined were: total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, fibrinogen and factor VII. The Pearson correlation coefficient was determined to evaluate the association of fibrinogen and factor VII with other cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: Serum fibrinogen levels correlated positively with LDL-cholesterol and with the body mass index and negatively with HDL-cholesterol. Factor VII correlated positively with the triglycerides and total cholesterol. No significant differences were observed in the hematic factors among the hypertensive women and those who were not hypertensive. The same was observed in diabetic and in the pre- and postmenopausal women. CONCLUSIONS: In this transversal study a relationship was found between serum fibrinogen level and factor VII activity and other known cardiovascular risk factors.