Women undergoing menopausal symptoms may have poor CV health metrics

A recent study by Hye Rin Choi and team suggests that premenopausal women with menopause symptoms, whether vasomotor or nonvasomotor, are more likely to have poor cardiovascular health metrics. The findings were published in Menopause Journal.

The study included 4,611 women aged 42 to 52 years, examined the prevalence of ideal CVH metrics and their correlation with various menopause symptoms and CVH metrics data was collected during health screening examinations. Menopause symptoms were assessed using the Korean version of the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire. The participants were divided into two groups: those with absent symptoms and those experiencing symptoms. The symptomatic group was further categorized based on the severity of vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual symptoms, ranging from 0 to 7, with 7 indicating the most bothersome symptoms. CVH metrics were evaluated according to the American Heart Association Life Simple 7 metrics, excluding the dietary component. The metrics were scored from 0 (unhealthy) to 6 (healthy) and classified as poor (0-2), intermediate (3-4), and ideal (5-6).

The results of the study revealed a significant correlation between overall menopause-specific quality of life scores and poorer CVH metrics. Furthermore, all four domains of menopause symptoms—vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual—were found to be associated with poorer CVH metrics in a dose-response manner.

After adjusting for various factors such as age, parity, education level, anti-Mullerian hormone levels, and alcohol intake, the researchers found that women experiencing the most severe degree of vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual symptoms had a significantly higher prevalence of poor CVH metrics.

The prevalence ratios (95% confidence interval) for poor CVH metrics were 2.90 (1.95-4.31), 2.07 (1.36-3.15), 3.01 (1.19-7.65), and 1.66 (1.15-2.39), respectively, compared to those without each respective symptom.

These findings emphasize the importance of addressing menopause symptoms and implementing appropriate cardiovascular health measures in premenopausal women to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular problems. 

Source:

Choi, H. R., Chang, Y., Kim, Y., Cho, Y., Kwon, M.-J., Kang, J., Kwon, R., Lim, G.-Y., Kim, K.-H., Kim, H., Cho, J., Guallar, E., Park, H.-Y., & Ryu, S. (2023). Vasomotor and other menopause symptoms and the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health metrics among premenopausal stage women. In Menopause (Vol. 30, Issue 7, pp. 750–757). Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). https://doi.org/10.1097/gme.0000000000002203