Evaluation of erythrocyte deformability in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women

Whole blood filterability expressed as volume of red blood cells filtered per minute (VRBC) was evaluated in 10 pre-menopausal and 10 post-menopausal women. In addition, blood concentrations of total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, fasting glucose and fibrinogen were measured and correlated with VRBC values. Whole blood filterability was significantly lower in the post-menopausal than in the pre-menopausal women. All the other parameters examined were higher after the menopause, except for HDL-cholesterol levels, which were found to be lower. The VRBC values correlated strongly with fibrinogen, triglyceride and HDL concentrations. These findings indicate that the higher plasma fibrinogen and triglyceride concentrations and the lower HDL-cholesterol levels observed in women after the menopause might be associated with haemorrheological changes. These might be partly responsible for the increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases in post-menopausal women.