Serum Estrogen Level in Postmenopausal Women with Ischemic Stroke: An Analytic Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Stroke is the third cause of death worldwide. The present study aimed at determining serum estrogen levels in postmenopausal women with ischemic stroke and compare with a control group admitted to Department of Neurology in Kowsar Hospital of Semnan, Iran in 2017.In this analytic cross-sectional study, serum estrogen levels in 33 women with ischemic stroke (who were eligible to be included in the study) were compared with a control group through the convenience sampling method. The demographic data were collected, and serum estrogen levels were measured through the quantitative luminescence Immunoassay technique in both groups and, the degree of disability was determined using the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) in case group. In case and control group, the age of patients was 74.48±13.44 (mean ± SD) and 73.35±12.89 years respectively, and estrogen levels were 16.65±2.83 and 22.94±3.11 pg/dl respectively, with a significant difference (p=0.03). Hypertension was the most common risk factor in case and control group (84.8% and 78.7%). In case group there was a significant relationship between the degree of disability at discharge from the neurology ward and the degree of disability before undergoing stroke treatment (p < 0.001) and, there was no statistically significant relationship between serum estrogen levels and age, number of risk factors, and disability at admission and at discharge. The results showed that serum estrogen levels in postmenopausal women with ischemic stroke were significantly lower than control group and normal estrogen range in healthy postmenopausal women.