HRT could prevent age-related increases in systolic
blood pressure
Women taking hormone replacement therapy have a smaller
increase in systolic blood pressure over time than those not taking it,
according to an analysis.
Dr Angelo Scuteri from the National Institute for
Research and Care in Ageing, Rome, and colleagues, assessed 226 postmenopausal
women for an average of 5.7 years (± 5.5 years) to see whether there was
an association between continuous use of HRT and change in blood pressure.
The women were taking part in the ongoing Baltimore Longitudinal Study
of Aging.
They found little difference in the average change
in diastolic blood pressure occurring between first- and last-visit measurements
both in continuous HRT users and non-users. However, over the same period,
there was a significant increase in systolic blood pressure in non-users
but not in users. In addition, they found that the differences in average
systolic blood pressure were more evident in older women.
The average change in systolic blood pressure between
first and last visit in HRT users was 1.6mmHg (95 per cent confidence
interval [CI] 1.3 to 1.9) and that for non-users was 8.9mmHg (95 per cent
CI 8.6 to 9.2). The equivalent diastolic blood pressure figures were –0.5mmHg
(95 per cent CI –0.7 to –0.3) and 0.9mmHg (95 per cent CI 0.8 to 1.0).
However, the authors caution: “The beneficial association between HRT
and changes in systolic blood pressure over time that we observed in healthy,
normotensive, postmenopausal women may not occur in postmenopausal women
with hypertension or other cardiovascular disorders.” The study is published
in Annals of Internal Medicine (2001;135:229).
Back to Top
|
