Vaginal cytology in the postmenopause. A study into some correlates

A considerable number of women continue to have proliferative vaginal smears indicating a certain level of endogenous estrogen production. Some correlates of this were studied. No significant correlation was found with age since menopause or with overweight. No correlation was found between the proliferation of the vaginal smear and climacteric complaints, circulatory or nervous. The implications of a proliferative smear for the postmenopausal woman and of the postmenopausal estrone production are briefly discussed. They appear at least to be ambiguous, because, although they protect against some facets of the estrogen deficiency syndrome, the factors which are correlated to a high level of endogenous estrone production are known as risk factors, predisposing for a higher incidence of uterine bleedings and perhaps malignant degeneration of some target cell tissues.