Higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease, endocrine/metabolic disorders seen in postmenopausal than premenopausal women
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Oct. 6, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Postmenopausal women with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a higher rate of comorbidities than premenopausal women, according to a study presented at the 41st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, held Sept. 24 to 26 in Barcelona, Spain.
Yasemin Simsek, from the İzmir University of Economics-Medical Point Hospital in Turkey, and colleagues examined the influence of menopausal status on the anatomical localization of initial MS symptoms, comorbidity burden, and disability outcome in patients with MS: 298 premenopausal women, 300 postmenopausal women, and 265 age-matched men.
The researchers observed significant differences in the initial symptoms of localization, with the optic nerve the most frequent site of first involvement in premenopausal women, followed by postmenopausal women and men (21.8 percent versus 15.0 and 11.7 percent, respectively). The spinal cord was the initial site in 27.5, 44.0, and 48.3 percent of premenopausal women, postmenopausal women, and men, respectively. Comorbidities were more prevalent in postmenopausal women and men than in premenopausal women (41.0 and 36.6 percent, respectively, versus 15.1 percent). The most common comorbid category was cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women (24.7 percent); endocrine/metabolic disorders also occurred frequently (10.3 percent). Psychiatric comorbidities were less common overall, but occurred more often in premenopausal than postmenopausal women. The comorbidity profile of men resembled that of postmenopausal women, especially with respect to cardiovascular risk.
“These findings have important implications for clinical care,” Şimşek said in a statement. “Men and postmenopausal women may benefit from strategies targeting neurodegeneration and disability prevention, whereas premenopausal women may require closer monitoring of relapse activity and optimization of disease-modifying therapies.”
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