Impact of menopause on the augmentation of arterial stiffness with aging.
OBJECTIVE
Aortic stiffness, determined by pulse wave velocity (PWV), is an independent marker of cardiovascular risk. PWV is mainly influenced by age-associated alterations in arterial wall structure and blood pressure. The present study was conducted to assess the impact of menopause on the brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) in healthy women.


METHODS
Fifty premenopausal women aged 22-54 years and 40 postmenopausal women aged 40-73 years were recruited for this study. Subjects with hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia were strictly excluded. The results of baPWV were analyzed chronologically by 10- or 5-year age intervals.


RESULTS
There was no significant difference in baPWV between premenopausal and postmenopausal women in their 40s and 50s. The baPWV of postmenopausal women aged over 60 years was significantly higher than that of postmenopausal women in their 50s. To clarify the age-dependent elevation in baPWV in detail, women their 50s and 60s were divided into subgroups by 5-year age intervals. There was no significant difference in baPWV among the 50-54-, 55-59- and 60-64-year subgroups. baPWV significantly increased in the 65-69- year subgroup (p< 0.05). There was a significant relationship between baPWV and age in premenopausal (r = 0.452, p = 0.001) and postmenopausal (r = 0.581, p < 0.0001) women. The slope of the regression line for baPWV plotted against age was steeper in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women.


CONCLUSIONS
This study produces suggestive evidence that menopause amplifies the age-dependent increase in arterial stiffness.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan. ktaka@med.id.yamagata-u.ac.jp
Kazuhiro
K
Takahashi
Sayaka
S
Miura
Akiko
A
Mori-Abe
Jun
J
Kawagoe
Keiko
K
Takata
Masahide
M
Ohmichi
Hirohisa
H
Kurachi
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D000842:Ankle / Q000098:blood supply*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D017697:Premenopause; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D012016:Reference Values