Childhood poverty indicator for women.

• Position: Heart Attacks

Women with disadvantaged childhoods are more likely to have a heart attack in old age, but men who grow up under similar conditions are not, indicates a study by sociologists from Duke University, Durham, N.C.

The link between childhood poverty and poor health in old age is well-established, but this is one of a handful of studies to find a difference in the way men and women respond--in part because it examines the sexes separately. "Traditionally, we have studied men," says lead author Jenifer Hamil-Luker, a post-doctoral fellow in sociology. "So we're just starting to see these gender differences."

The sociologists found, for example, that working mothers have a higher risk of heart attack, while working fathers' risk is decreased. "Existing research often overlooks key factors that influence women's health, such as the demands of child care or her social position, instead of just her husband's," Hamil-Luker points out. "Previous studies ignored the possibility that the complex interplay of biologic, social, psychological, economic, and behavioral processes that affect health may operate differently for men and women."

The researchers looked specifically at the risk of heart attack since the link between childhood poverty and cardiovascular disease in later life is particularly strong, and because heart attacks are so common. Heart attacks and cardiovascular disease have been the leading cause of death among American men and women since 1919.

They found that women who grew up in poor homes were 15% more likely to have had...