Major Cardiovascular Risk Factors for Menopausal and Non-menopausal Women Compared with Men of the Same Age in Mashhad, Iran

Background and aim: Menopause refers to the cessation of menstruation due to hormonal changes and ovarian inactivity in women. These changes in hormone levels lead to various health consequences. This period of physiological changes usually starts in women with 40-50 years of age, and is characterized by the reduction of estrogen level. The mortality rate of premenopausal women, due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), is one fifth of men, though it rapidly increases after the menopause. Therefore, this descriptive study was conducted in order to determine the cardiovascular risk factors for menopausal and non-menopausal women in comparison with men of the same age. Materials and Methods: The study sample included patients referring to the cardiovascular department of Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Iran. The subjects were divided into 4 groups: non-menopausal women (n=35), men of the same age (as the non-menopausal women, n=35), menopausal women (n=50), and men of the same age (as the menopausal women, n=50). All criteria related to major cardiovascular risk factors including systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), and low and high-density lipoprotein (LDL and HDL) were measured and compared in all four groups. In order to analyze the data, Fisher's exact test was carried out using SPSS version 16. Results: There was a significant difference between non-menopausal women and men of the same age with regard to high SBP and DBP, hypercholesterolemia, low HDL, and high LDL. However, no significant difference was observed among two groups, regarding high levels of TG. The menopausal women and men of the same age showed significant differences in terms of high SBP and low HDL.  However, no differences were observed in DBP, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and high LDL. Conclusion: Both non-menopausal and menopausal women and men had significant differences in relation to high SBP and low HDL. But a significant difference regarding high DBP, hypercholesterolemia and high LDL was only seen in non-menopausal women and men.