Ageing/Menopausal Status in Healthy Women and Ageing in Healthy Men Differently Affect Cardiometabolic Parameters

Abstract

Background: Gender medicine requires a global analysis of an individual's life. Menopause and ageing induce variations of some cardiometabolic parameters, but, it is unknown if this occurs in a sex-specific manner. Here, some markers of oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction are analysed in men younger and older than 45 years and in pre- and postmenopausal women.Methods: Serum and plasma sample were assayed for TNF-α and IL-6, malondialdehyde and protein carbonyls and for methylated arginines using ELISA kits, colorimetric methods and capillary electrophoresis.Results: Before body weight correction, men overall had higher creatinine, red blood cells and haemoglobin and lower triglycerides than women. Men younger than 45 years had lower levels of TNF-α and malondialdehyde and higher levels of arginine than age-matched women, while postmenopausal women had higher IL-6 concentrations than men, and higher total cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine and IL-6 levels than younger women. Men younger than 45 years had lower total cholesterol and malondialdehyde than older men. After correction, some differences remained, others were amplified, others disappeared and some new differences emerged. Moreover, some parameters showed a correlation with age, and some of them correlated with each other as functions of ageing and ageing/menopausal status.Conclusions: Ageing/menopausal status increased many more cardiovascular risk factors in women than ageing in men, confirming that postmenopausal women had increased vascular vulnerability and indicating the need of early cardiovascular prevention in women. Sex-gender differences are also influenced by body weight, indicating as a matter of debate whether body weight should be seen as a true confounder or as part of the causal pathway.

Vasomotor symptoms in menopause: a biomarker of cardiovascular disease risk and other chronic diseases?

“…Oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction were associated with aging/menopause status for women and aging for men. Aging/menopause status increased many more cardiovascular risk factors in women than aging in men, confirming that postmenopausal women had increased vascular vulnerability and indicating the need for early cardiovascular prevention in women 42 . VMS occurring early in the menopausal transition were not associated with increased CVD risk whereas late VMS were associated with increased CHD risk and all-cause mortality 43 .…”

“…Menopause and aging induce variations of some cardiometabolic parameters, but it is unknown whether this occurs in a sex-specific manner. Campesi and colleagues analyzed markers of oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction in men younger and older than 45 years and in pre-and postmenopausal women 42 . They reported that, before body weight correction, men overall had higher creatinine, red blood cells, and hemoglobin and lower triglycerides than women.…”

Recent advances in amino acid analysis by capillary electromigration methods: June 2015–May 2017

“…Menopause and ageing change various catabolic parameters. To understand whether this happens in a sex‐dependent manner, the pre‐ and post‐menopausal women were compared to the men that are younger and older than 45 years . The young men had more Arg than age‐matched women.…”

Female Reproductive and Hormonal Factors and Incidence of Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty Due to Osteoarthritis

“…We observed significant associations of reproductive factors and taking OCs with the risk of TKA in women of normal weight but not in women who were overweight/obese at early reproductive ages, and of current HRT use with TKA in normal/overweight women but not in obese women at midlife. The underlying mechanism might be explained by the association of reproductive factors with obesity , inflammation , and endothelial dysfunction . Overweight/obese women have already been exposed to increased mechanical loading and have inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, which are known risk factors for knee OA, due to excessive fat mass.…”