Effect of Menopausal Status on Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Presence of Carotid Plaque in Chinese Women Generation Population

Abstract

Menopause is an important physiological stage in women's life. The potential association of menopause with carotid intima-media thickness as well as with occurrence and stability of carotid plaque in Chinese female population is unclear. We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study by recruiting 2,131 participants aged above 40 years from northeast of China. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), presence of carotid plaque and its stability were evaluated by carotid duplex sonography. Among the participants, 1,133 (53.2%) were identified to be postmenopausal. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, presence of CIMT at 50th- 75th and ≥75th percentiles, carotid plaque and its unstable status were found to be significantly associated with the postmenopausal status (P < 0.001). When matched the participants by age, post-menopausal status was still associated with a higher risk of having unstable plaque. Moreover, our data show that postmenopausal status is a risk factor for intracranial arterial stenosis when compared with premenopausal status in the univariate analysis (OR = 1.314, P = 0.043), and such relationship is lost when the confounding factors are adjusted (OR = 0.828, P = 0.225). In conclusion, the vascular risk factors increase as the menopausal status changes. Compared with premenopausal status, postmenopausal status is associated with higher morbidity of CIMT, carotid plaque and its unstable status.

Association between high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, lipoprotein‐associated phospholipase A2 and carotid atherosclerosis: A cross‐sectional study

“…Bilateral carotid duplex sonography (ACUSON X300, Siemens, Germany) was used to evaluate the presence of carotid stenosis and carotid plaques 1, 12. The investigators were blinded to the clinical and laboratory examination results of the study participants.…”

“…Bilateral carotid duplex sonography (ACUSON X300, Siemens, Germany) was used to evaluate the presence of carotid stenosis and carotid plaques. 1,12 The investigators were blinded to the clinical and laboratory examination results of the study participants. A carotid plaque was defined as a focal structure either invading >0.5 mm into the arterial lumen, or invading into at least 50% of the surrounding IMT, or with a thickness at least 1.5 mm from the intimae-lumen interface to the media adventitia interface.…”

Prospective Association of Obesity Patterns with Subclinical Carotid Plaque Development in Early Postmenopausal Chinese Women

“…Smoking and alcohol use were not included for confounding control because of their low prevalence (< 4%) among sampled women. To assess the associations of obesity patterns, four possible combinations of general and abdominal obesity (i.e., [1] normal BMI with normal WHR, [2] general obesity with normal WHR, [3] normal BMI with abdominal obesity, and [4] general obesity with abdominal obesity) were derived and adopted as the independent variable for further binary logistic regression analysis with the same confounding control. Two women with missing data on CRP were excluded for multivariable regression analyses.…”

“…in menopausal status is linked to a higher morbidity of subclinical atherosclerosis including the thickening of carotid intima-media (3), as well as the presence and instability of carotid plaque (4). Therefore, early detection of carotid atherosclerosis is of prime public health importance for cardiovascular disease prevention among postmenopausal women (5).…”

Association of 10-Year Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score with Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Plaque

“…As shown in Table 2 , carotid IMT thickness and 10-year ASCVD risk score have no statistical correlation among women, which may be explained by the lack of consideration of other factors, such as hormonal status. 26 27 28) In addition, the small sample size of the group of women most likely affected the results; therefore, further study with a larger cohort, which incorporates additional factors, such as menopausal status, is required.…”