TY - JOUR
T1 - Pulse pressure and age at menopause
AU - Luoto, Riita
AU - Sharrett, A. Richey
AU - Eigenbrodt, Marsha
AU - Arnett, Donna
PY - 2002/6/28
Y1 - 2002/6/28
N2 - Background: The objective of this study was to study the association of early age at menopause with pulse pressure (PP), a marker of arterial stiffness, and PP change. Methods: The effect of natural menopause was studied in 2484 women from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study who had not used hormone replacement therapy and who had not had a hysterectomy. The cross-sectional association of age with PP was evaluated in the entire cohort. The cross-sectional association of recalled age at menopause was evaluated in the 1688 women who were postmenopausal at baseline. PP change over 6 years was assessed in relation to menopausal age separately in women who were postmenopausal at baseline and in those whose menopause occurred during the 6-year interval. Results: Chronological age was strongly and positively associated with PP in cross-sectional analyses, but not independently associated with PP change. While menopausal age was not associated cross-sectionally with PP, early age at menopause (age<45) was significantly and independently associated with a slightly larger increase in PP (8.4, 95% CI 7.0-9.8) than later menopause (6.5, 95% CI 5.8;7.2). However, among normotensive women the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.07, 6.1 vs 4.7). Conclusions: Early age at menopause may be related to a greater increase in arterial stiffness, but the effect appears to be small and further evidence is needed.
AB - Background: The objective of this study was to study the association of early age at menopause with pulse pressure (PP), a marker of arterial stiffness, and PP change. Methods: The effect of natural menopause was studied in 2484 women from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study who had not used hormone replacement therapy and who had not had a hysterectomy. The cross-sectional association of age with PP was evaluated in the entire cohort. The cross-sectional association of recalled age at menopause was evaluated in the 1688 women who were postmenopausal at baseline. PP change over 6 years was assessed in relation to menopausal age separately in women who were postmenopausal at baseline and in those whose menopause occurred during the 6-year interval. Results: Chronological age was strongly and positively associated with PP in cross-sectional analyses, but not independently associated with PP change. While menopausal age was not associated cross-sectionally with PP, early age at menopause (age<45) was significantly and independently associated with a slightly larger increase in PP (8.4, 95% CI 7.0-9.8) than later menopause (6.5, 95% CI 5.8;7.2). However, among normotensive women the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.07, 6.1 vs 4.7). Conclusions: Early age at menopause may be related to a greater increase in arterial stiffness, but the effect appears to be small and further evidence is needed.
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U2 - 10.1186/1472-6874-2-6
DO - 10.1186/1472-6874-2-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:2642534414
SN - 1472-6874
VL - 2
JO - BMC Women's Health
JF - BMC Women's Health
M1 - 6
ER -