1978 Volume 15 Issue 4 Pages 369-374
It has been reported that the incidence of calcification of the abdominal aorta is greater in women over sixty than that in men, and that the incidence of atherosclerosis suddenly increases after the menopause. The purpose of this report is to investigate the interrelationship between estrogen deficiency and atherosclerosis. We have measured serum estradiol levels and checked the presence of arterial calcification in 53 postmenooausal women over sixty (mean age, 71.7±0.8 years). Serum estradiol levels were measured by radioimmunoassay and the calcifications of the thoracic, abdominal aorta and the iliac artery were examined by X-ray films. The results were as follows:
1) Mean value of serum estradiol was significantly lower in women with calcification of the iliac artery (5.5±1.64pg/ml) than in women without calcification (16.2±2.01pg/ml). (p<0.01). Mean value of serum estradiol tended to be lower in women with calcification of the thoracic or abdominal aorta than those without it. Furthermore mean value of serum estradiol was significantly lower in women with calcification of the iliac artery than those in women with calcification of the thoracic or abdominal aorta.
2) Calcifications of all three arteries, including the thoracic, abdominal aorta, and the iliac artery, were significantly more frequent in women with calcification of the iliac artery, 14/16(87.5%) than in women with calcification of the thoracic aorta, 14/35(40%), or the abdominal aorta, 14/30(46.7%).(p<0.01).
3) The incidence of glucose intolerance and hypertention was not significantly different from that in women with arterial calcification to that in those without it. Mean age was significantly lower in women with arterial calcification than those without. Serum estradiol levels did not change from sixty to eighty years old in women.
4) These data indicate the possibility that the incidence of calcification of the iliac artery reflects the severity of arterial calcification, and that estrogen deficiency might accelerate arterial calcification in postmenopausal women.
