Hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and heart disease risk factors in older women.

Abstract

This study examined the relation of hysterectomy and oophorectomy to heart disease risk factors. Data were collected and analyzed for 1150 women aged 50 through 89. Of these women, 21.8% reported hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy; 22.1%, hysterectomy with ovarian conservation. Compared with women without hysterectomy, oophorectomized women, especially those 20 or more years postmenopause, had increased lipids, lipoproteins, glucose, and insulin; blood pressures were increased among current estrogen users. Women with hysterectomies with ovarian conservation had similar or more favorable risk factors than nonhysterectomized women. Bilateral oophorectomy, but not hysterectomy, may have long-term negative consequences for heart disease risk factors not totally ameliorated by estrogen use.