Relationship of Menopause to Serum Cholesterol and Arterial Blood Pressure: The United States'health Examination Survey of Adults

Weiss, N. S. (National Center for Health Statistics, Rockville, Md. 20852). Relationship of menopause to serum cholesterol and arterial blood pressure: The United States' Health Examination Survey of adults. Am J Epidemiol 96: 237–241, 1972.—The records of 897 40–51-year-old women were selected from the United States' Health Examination Survey, 1960–1962. Women whose menstrual periods had stopped had higher levels of serum cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure, but not systolic blood pressure, than premenopausal women. Among the postmenopausal women, serum cholesterol and blood pressure levels were not related to type of menopause (spontaneous vs. operative) or time interval since menopause. Taken together with other evidence, the results suggest that the menopause precedes the rises in serum cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure. However, because of the cross-sectional nature of this study, it is not yet possible to be certain of the temporal sequence of these events.