ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Original Research

Authors

Saremi   A.T. (*)
Fasihi   F. (1)
Safavi   M. (2)
Hakak‎   N. (2)
Ghanbari Torshaki ‎   F. (2)






(*) ‎“Sarem Fertility & Infertility Research Center (SAFIR)” and “Sarem Cell Research Center (SCRC)”‎, Sarem Women’s Hospital, Tehran, Iran
(1) ‎“Sarem Fertility & Infertility Research Center (SAFIR)” and “Sarem Cell Research Center (SCRC)”, ‎, Sarem Women’s Hospital, Tehran, Iran
(2) ‎Sarem Fertility & Infertility Research Center (SAFIR), Sarem Women’s Hospital, Tehran, Iran

Correspondence


Article History

Received:  February  4, 2016
Accepted:  May 14, 2016
ePublished:  June 15, 2017

BRIEF TEXT


Cardiovascular diseases are the most important cause of death in the United States that more than ‎‎50,000 deaths per year is due to this disease [1].‎

A large number of cardiovascular diseases occur in postmenopausal women, so that heart diseases ‎appear in women 10 years earlier than men [2]. Menopause is part of a woman's life, that due to ‎reduced ovarian capacity, permanent menstrual cessation occur. The average age of menopause is ‎between 50 and 52 years old. After menopause, the amount of estrogen production by the ovaries is ‎very small and this deficiency is associated with complications such as hot flashes, psychiatric ‎complications, atrophic complications, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular complications [3]. The cause ‎of most cardiovascular diseases is atherosclerosis of the large arteries [4]. Postmenopausal hormone ‎replacement therapy is one of the major issues in women's health care. According to studies, estrogen ‎is the key hormone in women that affects almost all cells of the body [5]. Also, estrogen has a major ‎impact on heart disease [6]; so that prevention of cardiovascular disease is considered as the main ‎benefit of hormone therapy [7]. Undoubtedly, cardiovascular disease is multifactor and many studies ‎have identified the relationship between fatty factors such as triglyceride and HDL cholesterol with ‎heart disease [8]. In fact, triglyceride levels above 150 mg / dl have a strong correlation with ‎atherogenic changes in LDL particles, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 3 times ‎‎[9]. In an epidemiological study, there has been an inverse association between the amount of HDL and ‎the incidence of atherosclerosis [10]. The main anti- atherogenic property of HDL is HDL2, and there is ‎a strong reverse relationship between HDL2 and coronary artery disease [11]. Chylomicron clearance ‎and chylomicron residues are increased by hormone therapy, which is the protective effect of estrogen ‎against cardiovascular disease [12]. The ratio of total cholesterol to heavy lipoprotein cholesterol is a ‎very promising factor for coronary heart disease and suggests an increase in the risk of coronary heart ‎disease in people between 50 and 95 years of age by increasing this ratio [13].‎

Considering that serum lipids are largely dependent on nutrition status, genetic status and lifestyle, and ‎also according to researches carried out in Western countries, and in Iran there is no significant ‎research in this field, this research was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of hormone ‎therapy on serum lipids by educating women about the symptoms and complications of menopause ‎and highlighting the natural points and abnormalities of the disease.‎



In this study, all postmenopausal women who referred to Sarem Medical Center due to complications ‎of menopause or women's problems between the years of 1998-1997 were interviewed while receiving ‎consent.‎

In the initial visit with 44 postmenopausal women, interviews and pre-treatment tests were performed ‎on them, of which only 18 returned 6 months after treatment, 20 of whom refused to continue the ‎study, and 5 of them only repeated second-line trials without treatment; one who was treated was ‎excluded from the study because of the use of lipid lowering drugs.‎

The data was collected by a questionnaire, which included demographic characteristics (age, ‎menopause age), blood pressure, weight, height, premenopausal disease or pre-menopausal factors, ‎smoking, and so on. Patients had not been treated with hormone therapy for at least 3-6 months and ‎did not use lipid lowering drugs and had a blood pressure higher than 160.95. During the examinations ‎performed by a gynecologist, they were asked in a questionnaire about history of liver disease, thyroid ‎disease, history of breast or endometrial cancer, and abnormal uterine bleeding, and their examination ‎was performed that they were healthy. Also, the results of cholesterol, triglyceride, AI, RF, HDL, LDL ‎tests and hormonal tests were recorded before and after treatment.‎ The instrument for measuring variables were instruments for measuring height, weight, blood ‎pressure and specific kits for measuring the level of cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-C, LDL-C ‎calculations using the Friedwald formula, calculating RF, AI and also the spectrophotometric apparatus ‎Cecil 1010 for the purpose of reading blood lipid tests. One measure of lipid and lipoprotein factors RF ‎and AI was performed before treatment, and then it was performed at least 6 months after hormonal ‎treatment. These subjects were treated with conjugated estrogen and medroxyprogesterone daily for 6 ‎months. Data were analyzed using T-test and Wilcoxon tests for serum total cholesterol level before and after ‎treatment.‎

The mean weight of patients was 66.1 ± 13.3; mean BMI was 26 .3± 5; mean age was 48.51 ± 4.95 and ‎the mean age of menopause was 45.10 ± 4.70. The referral was 72% due to menopause and 28% due to ‎women's problems. The mean systolic blood pressure was 12.8 ± 1.89 and the mean diastolic blood ‎pressure was 8.7 ± 1.1. The mean FSH in these women was 54.4 ± 3.33 and the mean LH was 26.4 ± ‎‎1.19. The mean of estradiol was 76.6 ± 24.3.‎ T-test (p = 0.350) and non-parametric Wilcoxon test (p = 0.140) did not show a significant difference in ‎serum total cholesterol level before and after treatment. No significant correlation was found between ‎the replacement hormone therapy and triglyceride levels (p = 0.690), while there was a significant ‎correlation between replacement hormone therapy and the level of triglyceride (p = 0.0001). There was ‎a significant relationship between replacement hormone therapy and serum LDL-C (p = 0.027). Also, ‎there was a significant correlation between alternative hormone therapy and reduction of RF (p = ‎‎0.0001) and also reduction of atherogenic index (AI) (p = 0.0001; Table 1; Figure 1).‎

‎... [14]. Sack et al. did not find any significant changes in serum cholesterol level after 3 weeks of ‎subcutaneous hormone therapy in 18 postmenopausal women. However, other studies found ‎contradictory results [15]. In a study conducted by Dunk in the United States in 1995, after 3 months of ‎hormone therapy for 32 hyper-cholesterolemic postmenopausal women, mean serum cholesterol ‎reached from 261 mg / dl to 233 mg / dl. In another study, conducted by Cressman in Sweden in 1997, ‎after 2 months of hormone therapy for 25 postmenopausal women, serum HDL levels changed from ‎‎5.0+1.1 to 6.0 ± 1.32 mg after treatment (p<0.001) [16]. In a study conducted by Crook in London in ‎‎1997, after 6 months of hormone therapy for 29 postmenopausal women, total serum total cholesterol ‎levels decreased by 7.3%, but their triglyceride levels did not change in comparison to the ‎pretreatment status. The results of this study were consistent with the study of Crook and with the ‎results of the Dank research.‎

HRT consumption which increases HDL and reduces LDL as one of the risk decreasing factors for ‎coronary heart disease is suggested for postmenopausal women.‎



Hormone therapy increases HDLC and decreases LDLC, RF, and AI, thereby reduces the risk of ‎cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.‎









TABLES and CHARTS

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CITIATION LINKS

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