Does Premenopausal Bilateral Oophorectomy Confer Excess Cardiovascular Mortality?

Each year, 600,000 American women undergo bilateral oophorectomy for benign conditions or to prevent ovarian cancer. But does oophorectomy before natural menopause raise risk for cardiovascular mortality? Investigators reviewed records in a single Minnesota county for 1274 premenopausal women who underwent unilateral oophorectomy and 1091 who underwent bilateral oophorectomy between 1950 and 1987; 2383 women who did not undergo oophorectomy served as controls.

At a median follow-up of 25 years, bilateral oophorectomy before age 45 was associated with significant excess cardiovascular mortality compared with cardiovascular mortality among controls (hazard ratio, 1.44; P=0.04); unilateral oophorectomy before age 45 (median follow-up, 30 years)…