Zhou, YongWang, DandanYang, XinWang, AnxinGao, XiangGuo, YumingWu, ShoulingZhao, Xingquan2015-03-022015Zhou, Yong, Dandan Wang, Xin Yang, Anxin Wang, Xiang Gao, Yuming Guo, Shouling Wu, and Xingquan Zhao. 2015. “Effect of Menopausal Status on Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Presence of Carotid Plaque in Chinese Women Generation Population.” Scientific Reports 5 (1): 8076. doi:10.1038/srep08076. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep08076.2045-2322http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14065470Menopause is an important physiological stage in women's life. The potential association of menopause with carotid intima-media thickness as well as with occurrence and stability of carotid plaque in Chinese female population is unclear. We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study by recruiting 2,131 participants aged above 40 years from northeast of China. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), presence of carotid plaque and its stability were evaluated by carotid duplex sonography. Among the participants, 1,133 (53.2%) were identified to be postmenopausal. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, presence of CIMT at 50th- 75th and ≥75th percentiles, carotid plaque and its unstable status were found to be significantly associated with the postmenopausal status (P < 0.001). When matched the participants by age, post-menopausal status was still associated with a higher risk of having unstable plaque. Moreover, our data show that postmenopausal status is a risk factor for intracranial arterial stenosis when compared with premenopausal status in the univariate analysis (OR = 1.314, P = 0.043), and such relationship is lost when the confounding factors are adjusted (OR = 0.828, P = 0.225). In conclusion, the vascular risk factors increase as the menopausal status changes. Compared with premenopausal status, postmenopausal status is associated with higher morbidity of CIMT, carotid plaque and its unstable status.en-USJournal Article2015-03-0210.1038/srep08076