title: Menopause is an independent factor augmenting the age-related increase in arterial stiffness in the early postmenopausal phase.
abstract: The present study examined whether the menopause augments the age-related increase in brachial-ankle pulse-wave velocity (PWV). In total, 3149 women (ranging in age from 21 to 94 years) undergoing an annual health screening examination were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Conventional atherosclerotic risk factors were examined, and the brachial-ankle PWV of each subject was determined. The relationship between age and the brachial-ankle PWV assumed the form of a quadratic curve, and the slope of the curve was relatively steeper after the menopause (brachial-ankle PWV = 0.17 x age2 - 0.58 x age + 812) than before (brachial-ankle PWV = 0.23 x age2 - 8.92 x age + 1058). A logistic regression analysis conducted for subjects between the ages of 45 and 56 years (mean age of menopause +/- 2 standard deviations) demonstrated that women who had experienced the menopause at least 6 years previously demonstrated a significant risk of belonging to the highest PWV tertile {adjusted odds ratio: 2.08 (95% confidential interval: 1.04-4.17)}, independent of age and other atherosclerotic risk factors (hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and smoking). Thus, this study suggested that the menopause augments the age-related increase in arterial stiffness during the early postmenopausal phase and that this augmentation is probably related, at least in part, to estrogen deficiency. The contribution of this menopause-related increase in arterial stiffness to the risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women should be further evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan.
authors.forename: Gulnisa
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zaydun
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tomiyama
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Tomio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koji
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yambe
authors.forename: Kohki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Motobe
authors.forename: Saburou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamashina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015994:Incidence; D008403:Mass Screening; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010991:Plethysmography; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014041:Tokyo / Q000453:epidemiology; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000502:physiology*