Hot flushes and biochemical markers for cardiovascular disease: a randomized trial on hormone therapy

Abstract

Introduction Menopausal hot flushes may affect the responses of various vascular risk factors to hormone therapy (HT). We compared the responses of biochemical markers for cardiovascular diseases to HT in recently postmenopausal women with tolerable or intolerable hot flushes.

Methods Healthy, non-smoking freshly postmenopausal women (n = 150) with no previous HT use were studied. Seventy-two women reported intolerable hot flushes (≥7 moderate/severe episodes/day) and 78 women tolerable hot flushes (≤3 mild episodes/day). The participants were treated in randomized order with either transdermal estradiol gel (1 mg), oral estradiol valerate (2 mg) with or without medroxyprogesterone acetate (5 mg), or placebo for 6 months. Treatment-induced changes in lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were compared. The trial is registered in the US National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Registry (no. NCT00668603).

Results Pretreatment hot flush status was not related to the responses of these markers to different forms of HT. However, when all active regimens were evaluated together as a post-hoc analysis, 7/10 markers showed a tendency toward greater beneficial changes in women with intolerable hot flushes. Furthermore, in women with intolerable hot flushes and with HT use, the increases in SHBG (Spearman's rho = − 0.570, p < 0.001) were related to the reductions in hot flushes during the use of HT.

Conclusions Hot flushes appear to be no significant determinant for the responses of vascular markers to HT use.

Key words:

• HOT FLUSHES
• VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS
• ESTRADIOL
• MEDROXYPROGESTERONE ACETATE
• BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS
• CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
• HORMONE THERAPY

Acknowledgements

Dr Pia Ebert, MD and Dr Hanna Hautamäki, MD are acknowledged for their contribution to the collection of study populations.

Conflict of interest  The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Source of funding  This study was supported by unrestricted grants from the Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation, the Emil Aaltonen Foundation, the Finnish Medical Foundation, the Helsinki University Central Hospital Research Fund and the Finnish Gynaecological Association.