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Risk of venous thromboembolic disease in postmenopausal women taking oral or transdermal hormone replacement therapy

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Abstract

Objective

The influence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on hemostasis processes depends on the type of hormone, the combination of doses, the time of taking HRT, and the route of administration (oral, transdermal, implanted). The aim of the current study was to assess some parameters of coagulation, especially tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and tissue factor (TF) in postmenopausal women using oral or transdermal HRT.

Methods

The study was conducted on 76 healthy women, including 46 women aged 44–58 years who were taking oral (26) or transdermal (20) HRT, and 30 women aged 44–54 years who did not take HRT as the control group. Plasma concentrations of TF, TFPI, thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), and D-dimer were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Moreover, the concentration of fibrinogen and activity of protein C were measured by chromogenic and chronometric methods.

Results

We observed a significantly higher concentration of TF and a significantly lower concentration of TFPI in women taking oral and transdermal HRT in comparison with the control group. We also found a significantly lower concentration of fibrinogen in women taking oral HRT vs. the control group. Moreover, no statistically significant changes in concentrations of TAT and D-dimer, or activity of protein C were noted.

Conclusions

In this study, the occurrence of an increased TF concentration simultaneously with a decreased concentration of TFPI in women taking HRT indicates hypercoagulability. No significant modification of TAT or D-dimer occurred, and thus there may not be increased risk of thrombosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathophysiology, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, st. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie 9, 85-094, Bydgoszcz, Poland

    Barbara Ruszkowska, Grażyna Gadomska, Liliana Bielis, Barbara Góralczyk & Danuta Rość

  2. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, st. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie 9, 85-094, Bydgoszcz, Poland

    Marzena Gruszka & Grażyna Odrowąż-Sypniewska

Authors
  1. Barbara Ruszkowska
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  2. Grażyna Gadomska
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  3. Liliana Bielis
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  4. Marzena Gruszka
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  5. Barbara Góralczyk
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  6. Danuta Rość
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  7. Grażyna Odrowąż-Sypniewska
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara Ruszkowska.

Additional information

Project (No. 73/04) supported by the Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland

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Ruszkowska, B., Gadomska, G., Bielis, L. et al. Risk of venous thromboembolic disease in postmenopausal women taking oral or transdermal hormone replacement therapy. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B 12, 12–17 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1000106

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1000106

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