MIDDLE-AGED women in Scotland smoke more, drink more alcohol and consume fewer vegetables than their counterparts in Sweden, according to a study which lays bare the health gulf between the two nations.
The study also found that women aged 40 to 65 in Scotland were more likely to be obese, exercised less and suffered higher rates of heart attacks and psychological distress than their European neighbours.
The research, carried out at the Linköping University, Sweden, and the University of Edinburgh is one of the first studies to clearly demonstrate that Scottish middle-aged women are particularly affected by a worse profile of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks.
The study, published in BMJ Open, said: "The profound differences in CVD risk and outcome frequency in the two populations are likely to have arisen from differences in the two groups of women's social, cultural, political and economic environments."
It found 5.6 per cent of the Scottish women had heart disease - such as angina - or had suffered a heart attack, compared with only 1.2 per cent of the Swedish women.
A total of 48 per cent of the Scottish women said they had a 'long-standing' illness compared to 37 per cent of the Swedes. Almost one third of the Scots women in the study were obese, compared with 15 per cent of those from Sweden.
Smoking rates among Scottish women were 27 per cent compared to 20 per cent in Sweden, while more than half of the Scots said they drank alcohol "often" compared to a third of those in Scandinavia.
In relation to physical activity levels, 17 per cent of the Scots were "sedentary" compared to eight per cent of Swedes. In addition, only seven per cent of Swedish woman said they "seldom" age vegetables compared to 28 per cent of the Scottish women. Rates of general wellbeing and happiness were also worse in Scotland.
The report states: "The overall picture of cardiovascular risks for Scottish women is, by almost all measurements, substantially worse than for Swedish women of the same age and education.
"There were remarkable lifestyle differences between the Swedish and the Scottish women."
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