Associations between menopausal symptoms and cardiovascular disease in middle-aged Chinese women

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between severity of menopausal symptoms and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among middle-aged Chinese women. Methods: A cross-sectional study recruited 9679 women aged 40-70 years from three socioeconomic regions of China in 2018. Menopausal symptoms were assessed by the modified Kupperman Menopausal Index (KMI). The severity of individual symptoms was classified as none (0 points), mild (1 points) and moderate-to-severe symptoms (2-3 points), and overall menopausal symptoms were classified as none (<15 points), mild (15-24 points) or moderate-to-severe (>= 25 points) according to the sum score of the KMI. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations of the severity of menopausal symptoms with CVD risk. Results: A total of 5.6% of participants reported being diagnosed with CVD. Overall menopausal symptoms were more common in women aged 60-70 years than in women aged 40-59 years. After multiple adjustment, mild (odds ratio [OR] = 2.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.64-2.61) and moderate-to-severe (OR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.92-3.63) overall menopausal symptoms were associated with increased risk of CVD compared with no symptoms. Significant positive associations between the severity of individual menopausal symptoms and CVD risk were observed for all 13 items. Conclusion: The severity of menopausal symptoms was positively associated with CVD risk in middle-aged Chinese women.