title: The association between prolactin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and Framingham risk score in menopause.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association between serum prolactin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels and cardiovascular disease risk in postmenopausal women regarding the Framingham Risk Score (FRS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-eight menopausal women were enrolled into the cross-sectional study. All participants had 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, echocardiography, electrocardiography, and carotid intima-media thickness measurement. Blood samples were obtained for prolactin, hs-CRP, lipid profile, fasting glucose, and insulin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the participants, 67.24% had a FRS <10%, and 32.75% had a FRS ≥10%. Levels of prolactin and hs-CRP did not differ between the FRS groups. In the FRS <10% group, significantly higher levels of prolactin were found. Cases with hypertension have significantly higher levels of hs-CRP. Prolactin and hs-CRP were found to be associated with hypertension in the FRS <10% and ≥10% groups, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hypertensive postmenopausal women with low risk for cardiovascular diseases have increased levels of prolactin, suggesting a possible role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. The correlation of hs-CRP with systolic blood pressure can be interpreted as a potential effect of hypertensive heart disease reflecting a state of high-risk milieu with elevated inflammatory markers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ufuk, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Elif Didem
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Gamze Sinem
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Caglar
authors.forename: Ebru
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Akgul
authors.forename: Sevim Dincer
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Cengiz
authors.forename: Gamze
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tombak
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000097:blood*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D008055:Lipids; D011388:Prolactin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein