Background and aims

We aimed to determine the utility of coronary artery calcium (CAC) for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk stratification in women with and without early menopause (EM).

Methods

To examine the association between CAC and incident ASCVD, we performed Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling using data from 2,456 postmenopausal women in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) with or without EM, defined as occurring at <45 years of age.

Results

The cohort was 64.1 ± 9.1 years old and 28.0% experienced EM. There were 291 ASCVD events over 12.5 ± 3.6 year follow-up with a higher event rate among those with EM compared to those without EM of 13.6 vs. 9.0 per 1,000 year follow-up (p < 0.01). Women with EM had a slightly lower prevalence of CAC = 0 (55.1%) than women without EM (59.7%) (p = 0.04) despite no difference in mean age. Among women with CAC = 0, the cumulative incidence of ASCVD at 10 years was low-to-borderline for women with (5.4%) and without EM (3.2%) (p = 0.06). However, women with EM had a significantly higher 15-year risk with an adjusted HR of 1.96 (95% CI: 1.26-3.04). In multivariable Cox models, women with CAC ≥ 1 had progressively increased ASCVD risk that did not significantly differ by EM status.

Conclusion

In MESA, >50% of middle-aged postmenopausal women with EM had CAC = 0, similar to those without EM. Among women with CAC = 0, those with EM had a low to borderline 10-year risk of ASCVD, but the 15-year risk was significantly higher for women with EM versus those without EM. When CAC ≥ 1, the incidence of ASCVD was similar for women with and without EM. These findings support the use of CAC to help improve ASCVD risk stratification in women with EM.

Condensed abstract

This study investigated the association between coronary artery calcium (CAC) and incident atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in postmenopausal women with and without early menopause (EM). We found that >50% of women had CAC = 0 and an associated low-to-borderline 10-year cumulative incidence of ASCVD. However, the risk for ASCVD was significantly higher for women with EM after 15-years follow-up. Additional research is needed to better understand the differences in long-term ASCVD risk between women with and without EM who have CAC = 0.