Endogenous sex hormone levels in postmenopausal women undergoing carotid artery endarterectomy.
Eur J Endocrinol
; 156(6): 687-93, 2007 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17535869
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To study the endogenous sex hormone levels in natural postmenopausal women and their association with the presence of internal carotid artery (ICA) atherosclerosis.DESIGN:
Case-control studyMETHODS:
We compared 56 patients with severe ICA atherosclerosis referred for carotid artery endarterectomy (CEA) with 56 age-matched control subjects free of severe atherosclerotic disease. The presence of atherosclerosis was determined by high-resolution B-mode ultrasound. Metabolic parameters and sex hormones were measured or calculated total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, quantitative insulin sensitivity check index, insulin resistance index, IGF-I, DHEA, DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S), free testosterone, total testosterone, estrone, estradiol, androstenedione, and sex hormone-binding globulin.RESULTS:
The cases had statistically significant lower levels of both total testosterone (0.23 +/- 0.12 vs 0.31 +/- 0.20 microg/l, P = 0.043) and free testosterone (3.42 +/- 1.94 vs 4.59 +/- 2.97 ng/l, P = 0.009) and significantly lower levels of androstenedione (625.3 +/- 168.7 vs 697.0 +/- 211.9 ng/l, P = 0.017) when compared with controls. Multivariate linear regression analysis, adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, baseline and physiologic characteristics, showed a significant inverse relationship between both serum free testosterone (beta = -0.234, P = 0.028) and androstenedione (beta = -0.241, P = 0.028) levels with the presence of severe atherosclerosis of ICA.CONCLUSIONS:
The study provides evidence of a positive association between low serum androgen levels and severe ICA atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women. It suggests that higher, but physiological, levels of androgens in postmenopausal women have a protective role in the development of atherosclerosis of ICA.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Hormônios Esteroides Gonadais
/
Doenças das Artérias Carótidas
/
Endarterectomia das Carótidas
/
Pós-Menopausa
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Eur J Endocrinol
Assunto da revista:
ENDOCRINOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2007
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Bélgica