Table 1.
Characteristics of postmenopausal women not taking hormone therapy in the Nurses’ Health Study by timing of bilateral oophorectomy and year of blood collection
| Characteristic | 1990 Blood collection | 2000 Blood collection | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural menopause (n = 1,335) | Premenopausal oophorectomy (n = 190) | Postmenopausal oophorectomy (n = 13) | Natural menopause (n = 318) | Premenopausal oophorectomy (n = 28) | Postmenopausal oophorectomy (n = 17) | |
| Age at blood draw, years (mean, SD) | 61.3 (4.8) | 61.5 (5.3) | 64.3 (3.2) | 69.2 (6.7) | 71.6 (5.2) | 69.9 (5.4) |
| Age at menarche, years (mean, SD) | 12.5 (1.8) | 12.5 (1.5) | 12.7 (1.7) | 12.6 (1.5) | 12.3 (1.4) | 12.5 (1.2) |
| Parity (mean, SD)a | 3.5 (1.7) | 3.4 (1.7) | 3.6 (0.7) | 3.5 (1.7) | 3.0 (1.1) | 3.4 (2.0) |
| Past HT use (n, %)b | 332 (25 %) | 132 (70 %) | 8 (62 %) | 138 (43 %) | 26 (93 %) | 11 (65 %) |
| Age at menopause, years (mean, SD) | 50.3 (3.4) | 44.5 (6.4) | 50.3 (3.5) | 50.9 (3.3) | 45.6 (4.6) | 50.7 (3.5) |
| Alcohol consumption, g/day (mean, SD) | 5.5 (10.4) | 5.3 (9.2) | 7.1 (9.6) | 5.5 (8.8) | 3.5 (4.2) | 6.2 (8.3) |
| BMI at blood draw, kg/m2 (mean, SD) | 25.8 (4.8) | 26.7 (4.9) | 25.0 (3.5) | 26.8 (5.7) | 26.5 (4.2) | 27.7 (7.4) |
| WHR, (mean, SD) | 0.8 (0.1) | 0.8 (0.1) | 0.8 (0.1) | 0.9 (0.1) | 0.9 (0.1) | 0.9 (0.1) |
| Median plasma hormone levels (10th–90th percentile) | ||||||
| Estradiol (pg/mL) | 5.3 (2.7–11.0) | 4.9 (2.7–11.1) | 4.7 (2.8–9.0) | 5.2 (2.8–17.6) | 5.7 (1.8–8.9) | 6.0 (2.2–6.8) |
| Estrone (pg/mL) | 24.8 (13.2–44.4) | 23.4 (13.7–44.5) | 29.9 (13.8–45.4) | 25.8 (13.8–50.6) | 24.7 (10.7–46.6) | 25.6 (17.5–31.4) |
| Estrone sulfate (pg/mL) | 223.1 (98.2–510.8) | 219.2 (100.6–629.4) | 221.9 (65.2–472.3) | 218.2 (79.4–600.8) | 216.7 (81.1–545.3) | 198.2 (59.7–609.1) |
| Testosterone (ng/dL) | 20.8 (10.9–39.3) | 15.6 (8.5–27.7) | 14.5 (8.3–26.9) | 22.3 (10.9–42.5) | 12.8 (4.0–31.1) | 16.8 (7.6–30.6) |
| DHEAS (μg/dL) | 64.6 (24.9–141.7) | 63.7 (25.3–125.7) | 44.5 (14.0–100.0) | 65.5 (12.5–166.4) | 35.2 (3.8–103.8) | 68.1 (4.1–164.6) |
| Prolactin (ng/mL) | 8.9 (5.2–16.1) | 9.4 (5.2–16.8) | 9.7 (4.9–20.7) | 8.9 (5.8–17.4) | 8.5 (5.2–16.6) | 7.3 (5.8–13.3) |
| SHBG (nmol/L) | 60.9 (29.4–109.1) | 54.6 (27.4–91.1) | 56.8 (28.0–93.2) | 55.7 (29.6–109.2) | 62.3 (23.6–105.8) | 57.3 (22.5–115.0) |
aAmong parous women only
bThe percent total does not add up to 100 % due to missing data