Iliac vessel wall thickness in menstrual and hormone treated and untreated postmenopausal women

To assess iliac vessel wall thickness in different groups of women.

Three groups of women were menopausal and were classified by hormone replacement therapy (HRT) (n = 32), atherosclerotic risk factors (n = 14) and an untreated group of postmenopausal women (n = 29), two groups of menstrual women, above 35 years (N = 35) and below 35 years (n = 16). In these groups of women, a 3.5 MHz ultrasound was used to assess the combined vessel wall thickness of the right iliac artery inner wall and vein outer wall.

The iliac vessel wall thickness was found significantly high in the menopausal group of women possessing high risk factors for atherosclerosis (4.3 ± 0.08 mm) and the untreated menopausal group of women (3.9 ± 0.08 mm) compared to the other three groups (p < 0.0001) (Mann-Whitney U test). The vessel wall thickness of the HRT group was 2.96 ± 0.09 mm, the older menstrual group 2.61 ± 0.07 mm, and 2.0 ± 0.06 mm in the young menstrual group. The HRT group had a significantly thicker iliac vessel wall compared to the young menstrual group (p < 0.001).

These results confirm the significant impact of high risk factors, such as smoking, hyperlipidaemia and diabetes, on the vessel wall thickness due to accelerated atherosclerosis. This study also suggests that the oestrogenaemic state of a woman may affect the health of the vessel wall.