Endocrine Abstracts

Abstract

The aim of our research was to find different from estradiol steroid hormones that changes in their concentrations may be risk factors of coronary artery disease (CAD) in women.

Material and methods:

YM-CAD-38 menstruating women in the age of 42.6±3.4 years with past myocardial infarction and angiographically proven arteriosclerosis. YM-H- 15 healthy menstruating women in the age of 41.1±3.5 years. PW-CAD- 26 postmenopausal women in the age 59±7 years with angiographically proven CAD. 75% of them suffered from myocardial infraction. PW-H- 17 healthy postmenopausal women in the age 66±9 years. From all of the women venous blood samples were taken ones at 0800, in 4–7 day of menstrual cycle from women in the reproductive age. Using immunological methods blood concentrations of estradiol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, progesterone and cortisol were measured.

Concentration of the hormones were compared between YM-CAD and YM-H and between PW-CAD and PW-H. Logistic regression analysis (LRA) was applied to find a relation among concentrations of the hormones and occurrence of CAD.

Results: Testosterone was the only hormone of significantly different concentration between YM-CAD and YM-H (3.5±1.5 vs 2.4±1.0 nmol/l, P<0.014).

There was a trend in PW-CAD to higher than in PW-H concentration of cortisol (497±138 vs 414±166 nmol/l, P<0.07) and lower concentration of DHEAS (2.04±2.07 vs 2.77±2.19 μmol/l, P<0.08).

In LRA relation to occurance of CAD was revealed for level of testosterone >3.7 nmol/l in young women (OR 2.5, P<0.021) and for concentration of DHEAS < 2.58 μmol/l in postmenopausal ones (OR 4.8, P< 0.027).

Conclusion: Elevated concentration of testosterone in young women and diminished level of DHEAS in postmenopausal women may constitute risk factors of CAD.