Association between menopause and hypertension in women: A population-based cross-sectional study

Background Objectives: Menopause is a critical stage in women’s life, and both menopausal and postmenopausal women are at risk of developing hypertension. However, the association between menopause and hypertension lacks sufficient study. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between menopause and hypertension in women. Methods: The participant inclusion criteria were age≥ 18 and being female, while the exclusion criteria were having no record of menopause and being unable to determine the presence of hypertension. Data from 1,884Chinese women from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were included for analysis, and the association between menopause and hypertension in women was determined by conducting multivariate logistic regression and excluding potential confounding factors by subgroup analysis. Results: The prevalence of hypertension in menopausal women was overall higher than in non-menopausal women(39.3% vs 23.6%), and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.000). Overall, statistically significant differences emerged for age, total cholesterol,low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, estimated glomerular filtration rate, hemoglobin levels, income status, and place of residence between postmenopausal and premenopausal women(P<0.05). Menopause is associated with hypertension(OR: 1.65 95% CI: 1.22-2.21 P<0.001). However, this relationship was limited to those aged 50-60years(OR:1.965 95%CI: 1.295-2.98), and no association was observed at other ages. Conclusions: Women are at further increased risk of developing hypertension after menopause. In particular, the risk of hypertension in women with middle and early menopause should be of concern.[S Chin J Cardiol 2023;24(1):8-16]