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- Title
Follicle‐stimulating hormone in postmenopausal women living with HIV: a prevalence study.
- Authors
Tariq, Shema; Okhai, Hajra; Severn, Abigail; Sabin, Caroline A.; Burns, Fiona; Gilson, Richard; Fox, Julie; Gilleece, Yvonne; Mackie, Nicola E.; Post, Frank A.; Reeves, Iain; Rosenvinge, Melanie; Sullivan, Ann; Ustianowski, Andrew; Miller, Robert F.
- Abstract
Objectives: We examined follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in women living with HIV aged > 45 reporting ≥ 12 months' amenorrhoea, and investigated correlation with menopausal symptoms. Methods: A cross‐sectional substudy of 85 women from the Positive Transitions through the Menopause (PRIME) Study who reported irregular periods at entry into the PRIME Study and ≥ 12 months' amenorrhoea at recruitment into this substudy. Serum FSH was supplemented with clinical data and menopausal symptom assessment. Serum FSH > 30 mIU/mL was defined as consistent with postmenopausal status. Associations between FSH and menopausal symptom severity were assessed using Pearson's correlation and the Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: Median age was 53 years [interquartile range (IQR): 51–55]; all were on antiretroviral therapy, three‐quarters (n = 65) had a CD4 T‐cell count > 500 cells/μL and 91.8% (n = 78) had an HIV viral load (VL) < 50 copies/mL. Median FSH was 65.9 mIU/mL (IQR: 49.1–78.6). Only four women (4.7%) had FSH ≤ 30 mIU/mL; none reported smoking or drug use, all had CD4 T‐cell count ≥ 200 cells/μL, and one had viral load (VL) ≥ 50 copies/mL. Median body mass index (BMI) was elevated compared with women with FSH > 30 mIU/mL (40.8 vs. 30.5 kg/m2). Over a quarter (28.2%) reported severe menopausal symptoms, with no correlation between FSH and severity of menopausal symptoms (p = 0.21), or hot flushes (p = 0.37). Conclusions: Four women in this small substudy had low FSH despite being amenorrhoeic; all had BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2. We found that 95% of women with HIV aged > 45 years reporting ≥ 12 months' amenorrhoea had elevated FSH, suggesting that menopausal status can be ascertained from menstrual history alone in this group.
- Subjects
HIV-positive persons; FOLLICLE-stimulating hormone; CROSS-sectional method; WOMEN; POSTMENOPAUSE; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; DATA analysis software
- Publication
HIV Medicine, 2022, Vol 23, Issue 4, p434
- ISSN
1464-2662
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/hiv.13205