The relationship between microalbuminuria, left ventricular hypertrophy, retinopathy, and sex hormone status in newly diagnosed hypertensive women.

An increased incidence of hypertension (HT) in postmenopausal female population has been shown in previous studies and this has been ascribed to an association with altered status of estrogen (E2) and other female sex hormones. Hypertension is associated with certain target organ damage (TOD) and related clinical conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between microalbuminuria, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), retinopathy, and sex hormone status in newly diagnosed hypertensive women. A total of 66 hypertensive women (39 postmenopausal and 27 premenopausal) were included in the study. Along with the tests recommended in the HT guidelines, LVH, hypertensive retinopathy, and microalbuminuria were investigated in all the patients. Sex hormones (follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, progesterone, and E2) of the patients were also measured. The results show that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in regard to TOD except microalbuminuria. The frequency of microalbuminuria in premenopausal group patients was higher than that of the postmenopausal group patients (P = .038). This study suggests that TOD caused by HT is a very important health problem, seeming to be related with female sex hormones.