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Hart DA. The Heterogeneity of Post-Menopausal Disease Risk: Could the Basis for Why Only Subsets of Females Are Affected Be Due to a Reversible Epigenetic Modification System Associated with Puberty, Menstrual Cycles, Pregnancy and Lactation, and, Ultimately, Menopause? Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3866. [PMID: 38612676 PMCID: PMC11011715 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2024] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
For much of human evolution, the average lifespan was <40 years, due in part to disease, infant mortality, predators, food insecurity, and, for females, complications of childbirth. Thus, for much of evolution, many females did not reach the age of menopause (45-50 years of age) and it is mainly in the past several hundred years that the lifespan has been extended to >75 years, primarily due to public health advances, medical interventions, antibiotics, and nutrition. Therefore, the underlying biological mechanisms responsible for disease risk following menopause must have evolved during the complex processes leading to Homo sapiens to serve functions in the pre-menopausal state. Furthermore, as a primary function for the survival of the species is effective reproduction, it is likely that most of the advantages of having such post-menopausal risks relate to reproduction and the ability to address environmental stresses. This opinion/perspective will be discussed in the context of how such post-menopausal risks could enhance reproduction, with improved survival of offspring, and perhaps why such risks are preserved. Not all post-menopausal females exhibit risk for this set of diseases, and those who do develop such diseases do not have all of the conditions. The diseases of the post-menopausal state do not operate as a unified complex, but as independent variables, with the potential for some overlap. The how and why there would be such heterogeneity if the risk factors serve essential functions during the reproductive years is also discussed and the concept of sets of reversible epigenetic changes associated with puberty, pregnancy, and lactation is offered to explain the observations regarding the distribution of post-menopausal conditions and their potential roles in reproduction. While the involvement of an epigenetic system with a dynamic "modification-demodification-remodification" paradigm contributing to disease risk is a hypothesis at this point, validation of it could lead to a better understanding of post-menopausal disease risk in the context of reproduction with commonalities may also lead to future improved interventions to control such risk after menopause.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Hart
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Kinesiology, and McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
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Duruöz MT, Ataman Ş, Bodur H, Çay HF, Melikoğlu MA, Akgül Ö, Çapkın E, Gürer G, Çevik R, Göğüş FN, Kamanlı A, Yurdakul FG, Yağcı İ, Rezvani A, Altan L. Prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and traditional cardiovascular risk factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a real-life evidence from BioSTAR nationwide registry. Rheumatol Int 2024; 44:291-301. [PMID: 38157014 DOI: 10.1007/s00296-023-05515-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have increased morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular (CV) comorbidities. The association of CV diseases (CVD) and traditional CV risk factors has been debated, depending on patient and RA characteristics. This study aimed to find the prevalence of CVD and CV risk factors in patients with RA. A multi-center cross-sectional study was performed on RA patients using the BioSTAR (Biological and Targeted Synthetic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Registry) in September 2022. Socio-demographic, clinical, and follow-up data were collected. Myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disorders, congestive heart failure, ischemic stroke, and transient ischemic attack were regarded as major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). CVD was defined as the presence of at least one clinical situation of MACE. Group 1 and Group 2 included patients with and without CVD. Prevalence rates of CVD and traditional CV risk factors were the primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes were the differences in the clinical characteristics between patients with and without CVD. An analysis of 724 patients with a mean age of 55.1 ± 12.8 years diagnosed with RA was conducted. There was a female preponderance (79.6%). The prevalence rate of CVD was 4.6% (n = 33). The frequencies of the diseases in the MACE category were ischemic heart disease in 27, congestive heart failure in five, peripheral vascular disorders in three, and cerebrovascular events in three patients. The patients with CVD (Group 1) were significantly male, older, and had higher BMI (p = 0.027, p < 0.001, and p = 0.041). Obesity (33.4%) and hypertension (27.2%) were the two CV risk factors most frequently. Male sex (HR = 7.818, 95% CI 3.030-20.173, p < 0.001) and hypertension (HR = 4.570, 95% CI 1.567-13.328, p = 0.005) were the independent risk factors for CVD. The prevalence of CVD in RA patients was 4.6%. Some common risk factors for CVD in the general population, including male sex, older age, and hypertension, were evident in RA patients. Male sex and hypertension were the independent risk factors for developing CVD in patients with RA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Tuncay Duruöz
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitaton, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Türkiye.
| | - Şebnem Ataman
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitaton, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Türkiye
| | - Hatice Bodur
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitaton, Ankara City Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Türkiye
| | - Hasan Fatih Çay
- Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Meltem Alkan Melikoğlu
- Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Türkiye
| | - Özgür Akgül
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Türkiye
| | - Erhan Çapkın
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitaton, School of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Türkiye
| | - Gülcan Gürer
- Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, University School of Medicine, Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Türkiye
| | - Remzi Çevik
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitaton, School of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Türkiye
| | - Feride Nur Göğüş
- Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, Türkiye
| | - Ayhan Kamanlı
- Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Türkiye
| | - Fatma Gül Yurdakul
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitaton, Ankara City Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Türkiye
| | - İlker Yağcı
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitaton, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Aylin Rezvani
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitaton, Internatonal School of Medicine, İstanbul Medipol University, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Lale Altan
- Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Uludağ University, Bursa, Türkiye
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