enopause Itself Appears to Increase VD Risk Factors , with video

It is well known that cardiovascular risk is higher in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women, but it’s unclear how much of the elevated risk is related to aging, menopause itself, or a combination of the two

To explore the issue, the researchers turned to the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation SWAN, a prospective analysis of white, black, Hispanic, Japanese, and hinese women in middle age

After 10 annual examinations that included assessments of cardiovascular risk factors, 1,054 women mean age 471 had had their final menstrual period None was related to surgery or hormone therapy

The researchers evaluated how well two models fit the changes in risk factors that were observed

One was a linear model in which risk is expected to increase at a similar rate through the menopausal transition, indicating an effect of chronological aging

The other was a piecewise linear model, in which the rate of change in various risk factors can differ between three time periods — premenopause, within one year of the final menstrual period perimenopause, and postmenopause

The piecewise linear model better explained the increases in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B observed during the menopausal transition The changes that occurred within one year of the final menstrual period were significantly greater than during the other time periods P<00001 for all comparisons

The changes in HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I were also better explained by the piecewise linear model, but the greatest increases occurred longer than one-year before the final menstrual period

Increases in all other risk factors, including glucose, insulin, blood pressure, fibrinogen, and -reactive protein increased linearly throughout the menopausal transition

The findings did not differ by ethnic group or baseline weight

A president Alfred Bove, D, PhD, said, “I think this is extremely important for us because we have been in the habit of watching LDL and trying to monitor as people move through the risk environment, particularly as they get older”

But, he continued, “This takes some of the mystery away, gives us an opportunity to modify lipids, and I think that, at least, this is one of the things that will give us a target for improving long-term health in women”

In her editorial, Bittner said it would be premature to “conclude that the impact of menopause is limited to adverse effects on lipids and that coronary heart disease risk in postmenopausal women is otherwise driven by chronologic aging”

She continued, “To determine the relative contributions of chronologic aging and menopause to overall cardiovascular risk, future studies should not only assess cardiovascular risk factors but also assess vascular structure and function longitudinally in the context of careful characterization of the menopausal transition and while controlling for important covariates”

Sutton-Tyrrell and her colleagues noted some limitations of the study, including potential bias because SWAN participants who underwent menopause were leaner and more likely to be smokers than those who didn’t, the limited generalizability of the results to women undergoing menopause resulting from hormone therapy or surgery, and loss of about a quarter of the participants to follow-up

SWAN has grant support from the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s health

Neither the authors nor the editorialist made any financial disclosures

source : www.medpagetoday.com

Related News:

• Impact Of Ethnicity On Primary Treatment Choice And Mortality In Men With Prostate Cancer: Data From CaPSURE
• Greater Infection Risk with Staples in Hip Surgery (CME/CE)
• SGO: No Lung CA Risk Seen with Estrogen (CME/CE)
• Patients With Long-Term Conditions Need Greater Support To Return To Work, England
• BrainPort Helps Blinded Soldier See With Tongue
• Insufficiency Fractures After Pelvic Radiotherapy In Patients With Prostate Cancer
• Greater Infection Risk with Staples in Hip Surgery
• SIR: ABI Flags Those Not Otherwise at Risk for CVD
• SIR: Cryotherapy Conserves the Breast (CME/CE, with video)
• NaturalNews connects readers with premium astaxanthin and spirulina at unheard-of discount prices