Long‐term effects of the menopause and sex hormones on skin thickness

Abstract

Suniiriary. Skin collagcn conlcnt a~~d skin thickness in a g r o u p of postinenopausal wonicn w h o had been treated with sex h o r m o n c implants were c o m p a r e d with those in a n untreated g r o u p of similar w o m e n . Both skin collagen content and thickness were found t o b e significantly greater in the treated than in the untreated group. In the untreated women skin collagen content declined in re1 a 1' ion to m e n opausal age but not t o chronological age. No correlation was found with menopausal age, chronological age or duration of therapy in t h e trcated group. These data suggest that skin collagen is influenced by t h c sex h o r m o n e status arid declines after t h e menopause. contributing t o t h e increase in urinary liydroxyproline excretion that has been reportcd to occur a t this time.Alhright ct nl. (1940) first postulated that loss of oestrogens leads to bone loss after the menopause. but the effects of oestrogcn deficiency on the skin collagen content and skin thickness have not been reported. Although it has been suygested that there is a link between the quality of the skin and bone mass. (McConkey et ul. 1069; tiordon 19771, the possible effect of sex hormones on skin has not been adequately investigated. Brincat el al. (l983), in a study comparing 29 postmenopausal women with 26 women of similar age, who had been on sex hormone replacement for between 2 and 10 years, showed that the treated group had a higher skin collagen content than the untreated group. thus suggesting that sex hormones have a direct effect on the skin. Shuster et al. (1Y70) wggested'that it is an increase in androgen levels that gives hirsute women their higher skin collagen and skin thickness.In order to investigate the effects of sex hormones on the skin. we have studied the skin collagen content and the skin thickness in a large number of women treated with sex hormones and in untreated women at various stages after the menopause. Patients and methodsThe skin collagen content was measured in 52 postmenopausal women, who had been treated with oestradiol and testosterone implants for 2 to 10 years, and compared with that in a group of 66 postmenopausal women who had never received sex hormone therapy.The two groups were similar in age. the mean age was 50.5 years in the treated group and 50.3 years in the untreated group. The treated group of women were maintained on implants of 50 mg of oestradiol (&,) and 100 mg of testosterone (Tlo,,) (Brincat et al. 1984) administered every 6 nionths. Those women who had a uterus were given 5 mg of norethisterone for 7 days to produce a regular bleed and to prevent endometrial hyperplasia (Thorn et (11. 1979). The mean duration of therapy in the treated group was 5-2 years. The mean number of years since the menopause was 8.8 in the treated group and 8-1

Effect of a novel dietary supplement on skin aging in post-menopausal women

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Effect of Porcine Placental Extract on Collagen Production in Human Skin Fibroblasts In Vitro

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