[The hormonal changes in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis].

We have studied the levels of sexual hormones in 45 female patients suffering seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients were classified in two groups. Group 1 (premenopausal), was formed by 26 women and group 11 (postmenopausal) by 19 women. They were compared to 40 control women (20 premenopausal and 20 postmenopausal). Age and body surface as similar in both groups. Mean estradiol, progesterone and androgen plasma levels in group 1 were similar to the premenopausal control group. On the contrary, group 11 patients presented a statistically significant increase in plasma androgen levels when compared to the postmenopausal control group. This seems to indicate that postmenopausal women suffering rheumatoid arthritis present a hyperandrogenic situation, which could have a beneficial effect on the clinical expression of the disease.