How Do Early Menopause and Hormone Therapy Affect Risk for Cerebral Aneurysms?

The incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage is higher in women than in men, peaking among women in their 40s through 60s. In a U.S. case-control study, investigators compared characteristics of 76 women with cerebral aneurysms (cases) who received care between 2007 and 2011 from a single physician with those of 532 age- and education-matched controls drawn from a population-based telephone survey conducted between 1994 and 1998. Mean overall age was 59.

Cases were more likely to smoke (35.5% vs. 26.1%, P=0.09) and less likely to drink alcohol (21.1% vs. 32.9%, P=0.04) than controls. In regression analysis that accounted for smoking and alcohol consumption, later age at menopause (odds ratio, 0.79; P=0.046) and ever-use of hormone therapy (HT) (…