Association of sex hormone concentrations in women with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality

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Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of deaths among women, with a higher rate compared to men (58% vs. 42%). Furthermore, women develop CVD about 10 years later than men, showing a steep increase of incident CVD after menopause. The loss of the putative cardioprotective influence of estrogen during the menopausal transition was postulated as potential explanation for the observed pattern. However, available epidemiological and clinical studies provide inconclusive results and offer only limited evidence for the suggested influence of sex hormone concentrations, including estrogen and testosterone, on cardiovascular risk in women.Thus, the present study aims to investigate the cardiovascular risk of low and high sex hormone concentrations in women, respectively, using longitudinal population-based data of about 2000 women aged 20 to 79 years with validated epidemiological and laboratory methods and endpoints. Furthermore, the planned mass spectrometry-based sex hormone measurements will provide valuable data to significantly contribute to an international genetic consortium for the investigation of the physiological determinants of sex hormones in women. Based on these data and observational findings the outlined project will generate important hypotheses for future validation in a clinical research setting.