Faculty Collaboration Database

Endogenous postmenopausal hormones and carotid atherosclerosis: a case-control study of the atherosclerosis risk in communities cohort. Am J Epidemiol 2002 Mar 01;155(5):437-45

Date

02/28/2002

Pubmed ID

11867355

DOI

10.1093/aje/155.5.437

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0036498976 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   128 Citations

Abstract

Studies examining the relation between endogenous postmenopausal hormone levels and cardiovascular disease have yielded conflicting results. After excluding women with a history of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use, the authors conducted a US case-control study in 1987-1992 comparing endogenous postmenopausal hormone levels in women with and without significant carotid atherosclerosis in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort. Atherosclerosis was assessed by using B-mode ultrasound to measure carotid artery intimal-medial thickness (IMT). Cases (n = 182) were postmenopausal women with average IMT measurements greater-than-or-equal the 95th percentile. Controls (n = 182) were frequency matched to cases on age and ARIC center and had IMT measurements < the 75th percentile. After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, no association was found between the odds of atherosclerosis and increasing quartiles of estrone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, or androstenedione. Compared with participants in the lowest quartile of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), those in the highest quartile had a significantly lower odds of atherosclerosis (odds ratio = 0.48, 95% confidence interval: 0.24, 0.97). Similarly, participants in the highest quartile of total testosterone had a lower odds of atherosclerosis (odds ratio = 0.38, 95% confidence interval: 0.20, 0.74). The authors found higher total testosterone and SHBG to be inversely related to carotid atherosclerosis, suggesting their potential importance in reducing atherosclerotic risk in postmenopausal women not using HRT.

Author List

Golden SH, Maguire A, Ding J, Crouse JR, Cauley JA, Zacur H, Szklo M

Author

Ann M. Maguire MD Associate Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Aged
Androstenedione
Arteriosclerosis
Carotid Artery Diseases
Case-Control Studies
Cohort Studies
Estrone
Female
Humans
Middle Aged
Odds Ratio
Postmenopause
Risk Factors
Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin
Testosterone