Premenopausal and postmenopausal women differ in their cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses to behavioral stressors

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Saab PO; MatthewsKA; Stoney CM; McDonald RH Deparrmenrof Psychology, f.Iniv.?r&v of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124; USA PsychophysiologyM/3 (27~230)/1989/ Middle-aged(45-51 years) women performed four tasks while their heart mate.blood pressure. and plasma catechok&nea were mcMTod. The tasks were serial subtraction. mirror image Iracing, speech, and postural tilt. The speech task was considered to be particularlyrelevaot fo women hecause of its emphasis on social skills. FiFia p:Smeoopmw.z women rcportcd menstruatingre@I. lsrly and were tested in the m;Iy fo&xdar phase. Sixteen postmenopausalwome~~reported not menstrualias for at least 12 monlhs and their hormonal status wm verified by sciurn levels of folliclestimulatinghormone. Zealis &howedthat postmcnopwwd women exhibited greamr increases f:om ba&nc in hart we during all tasks, r&&e lo pmmmopausal women, with a particularly pronouo& increasedutig the speech task. Postmenopawd women exhibited~tcr increase from baselhm in systolic blood pressure and epinephrhm,relative to premeoopaosal women, during the speech task only. Expkumtionsfor the stressor-swafic effect of menopausp:smtus were diiussed. The results sugBmtthat reproductivehormones may interact with stressor characteristicsto determine middleaged women’s physiologicalresponses to stress. Candatea of bigb aeUrty Uppmldn cboleaterollo women stodkd by 1be melhodof co-win conWo1 BA; Brand RJ; Halley SB

Cohn

Htunan Population Lubwakny, Ca~(fomiaPublic Ha&h Am. 1. Epidcmiol. 129/5 (988-999)/1989/

Foundation.

B&e&y,

CA 94701; USA

This study examinesthe relation between each of the following risk variables and hi@ density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol:cigarette smoking, alcohol we, leisure exercise. poslmenopausal estrogen use, and body mass, before nod after adjustment for genetic ano nongenetic variables shawd by monozygous and ~&YJS c~twins. Subjects wwe 179 dizygous and 255 monozygous twin pairs from the Kaiser PermanentcTwin Registry who participated in a special examination in 19X?--1979 in Oakland, California.A multivariateco-twin .?r&sis made it possible to adjust for measuredcovaciables and also 1o adjust for unmeasured familial variables shared by co-twins. After adjustment for measuredeovmiablm, further adjostmcnt for the unmeasuredfamilial variables shared by monozygous co-twins redwed P positive association between alcohol and HDL cholesteroland tliminatcda positiveassociationbetween exerciseand HDL cholesterol.On the other hand, adjustment for unmeasured familial variables shared by monozysous co-twins had little effect on significantassociations bclwcen smokingand HDL cholestaroi,postmenopausalestrogen use and HDL cholesmml, and body nmss and HDL cholesterol. ARhougb an important role for random error was not rules outin the sample size available. tindillgsare mnsistent with the following interpretations:(I) alcohol eonsumplion and leisureexercisemay have smallereffects oo HDL cholesteralthan predictedby studies unadjusted for familial factors bccawe effects of thae variables arc confounded by familial factors; and (2! smoking, postmenopaosal estrogen, and body mass have effects predicted by studies unadjusted for familialfactors and may thereforebe good targets for ioterventionsfo raise HDL cholesterol. Poslmeoopa~~sal osteoporosis; Response of immaooextmctednldtonls (0 a c&ham clamp Sjobcrg HE; Tarring 6; Omnberg B; Bhrns~enu: Bucht E Drpllrrnrentof Endocrinology, Karolinska Ha&al, S-104 01 .Stockkoim; Swedm Bone 10/l OS-18)/1989/ Fourteen postmenopausalfemales with osteoporosis (PMO) and 14 hralthy postmmopawal females (PMF) were studied by means of the calciumclamptechnique. Plasma ~9s cdlccted before start and during the 1 hour cakimn clamp. Calcitoain(CT) was immunoextractalfrom plasma with antiserum No. I directed against the mid- and carboxyterminalportion of CT. rhcreafter radioimmunoassay was performedon the cxtmcts with antiserumNo. 2 directedagainst tt.. carbaxytcrminaJof CT. The