Pulmonary Artery Pressure, Gender, Menopause, and Pregnancy in Schistosomiasis-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension

BACKGROUND Schistosomiasis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SPAH) is a major concern worldwide. However, the role of gender-specific contributing factors in SPAH is unknown. OBJECTIVE We investigated how systolic pulmonary artery pressure (SPAP) values and the presence of severe SPAP relate to gender, menopausal status, and pregnancy history in SPAH patients. METHODS Seventy-nine patients diagnosed with SPAH from 2000 to 2009 were assessed and 66 were enrolled in the study. Information about age, menopausal status, pregnancy, echocardiography-derived SPAP, and invasive mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) was collected from medical records. The relation between values of SPAP and mPAP and their agreement for severe disease were assessed. Regression models assessed the association of gender, menopausal status, and pregnancy history with SPAP values and the presence of severe SPAP. RESULTS Moderate correlation and good agreement for severe disease were found between mPAP and SPAP. Mean SPAP values were similar for men and women. A trend toward higher values of SPAP was found for non-menopausal women compared to men. Higher SPAP values were found for menopausal compared to non-menopausal women; the values were non-significant after adjustment for age. Pregnancy history had no association with SPAP. Menopause and positive pregnancy had no association with severe SPAP. CONCLUSION In SPAH patients, neither gender, nor menopausal status, nor pregnancy history showed independent correlation with SPAP values assessed by echocardiography.