04/15/2010 - Articles
High levels of natural estrogen increase stroke risk
By: Susan Aldridge, medical journalist, PhD
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Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and leads to significant disability among survivors. Stroke is also more common among women after the menopause and it used to be assumed that this was because of falling levels of the hormone estrogen. However, research from the Women’s Health Initiative showed that supplying estrogen in the form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) does not help. In fact, HRT actually increases stroke risk, and has other health risks, which is why millions of women have stopped taking it.
Jennifer Lee of the UC David Health System in the United States became intrigued by the possible impact of endogenous – or naturally occurring – estrogen on stroke risk while working on the Women’s Health Initiative. She now reports on one of the first studies of endogenous estrogen and stroke. A group of nearly 10,000 women not on HRT had their estrogen levels measured at the start of the study. They were followed up for eight years, during which time 247 strokes occurred. Lee’s team then matched this group with a similar group of participants who had not had a stroke. The women’s estrogen levels were divided into four quarters, from high to low.
Women with estrogen levels in the highest quarter had a 2.3 times higher risk of stroke than women whose estrogen levels were in the lowest quarter. The stroke risk was more pronounced among women who had a larger waist size (more than 34 inches). Central obesity, associated with larger waist size, may increase the risk because abdominal fat produces estrogen and maybe contributes to higher estrogen levels. Therefore, one way you might be able to reduce stroke risk is to keep your waistline trim. Lee is now looking at health risks, including stroke, among women on HRT according to their natural estrogen levels. The potential risk of stroke should be borne in mind by postmenopausal women considering HRT for symptoms. A better understanding of the link between stroke and estrogen may also lead to preventive therapies that aim to keep estrogen levels under control.
Source:
Lee JS Prospective study of endogenous circulating estradiol and risk of stroke in older women Archives of Neurology February 2010; 67:195-201
Created on: 04/15/2010
Reviewed on: 04/15/2010
Reviewed on: 04/15/2010
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i think high estrogen is the hidden culprit in many diseases! note that obesity (in both men and women) and HRT raise the risks of the very same diseases: certains cancers, heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, and dementia.
i've yet to read a paper where scientists actually explain WHY excess fat is bad. aside from crowding the internal organs and (by weighing more) putting strain on the joints, what i the fat doing? my guess would be that it's churning out excess estradiol. i'm also intrigued by the fact that aromatase inhibitors (used to treat breast cancer) have (except for increased bone loss) not caused harm in women, despite the extreme estrogen depletion they cause.