Gender and pre-atherosclerotic lesions. Effects on prevalence in human abdominal aortas

Gross and microscopic examination of equivalent segments of abdominal aortas obtained at autopsy from 39 male patients aged 10 to 30 years (mean, 20.5 years) and 37 female patients aged 9 to 30 years (mean, 20.9 years) revealed no significant difference in the prevalence of aortic pre-atherosclerotic lesions in male v female patients. The prevalence of fatty streaks and early and late fibromusculoelastic lesions did not change significantly with increasing age, suggesting that in the abdominal aorta, the majority of precursor lesions for atherosclerosis are already present by 15 years of age. These findings suggest that the reduced severity of atherosclerosis in female patients is not due to the presence of smaller numbers (or extent) of precursor lesions, but rather to slower progression of these lesions in female patients.