Female reproductive and hormonal factors and lung cancer mortality among never-smokers: A prospective cohort study of 287 408 Chinese women

There is growing, but inconsistent evidence suggesting oestrogen may play a key role in lung cancer development, especially among never-smoking women for whom lung cancer risk factors remain largely elusive. Using the China Kadoorie Biobank, a large-scale prospective cohort with 302 510 women aged 30 to 79 years recruited from 10 regions in China during 2004 to 2008, we assessed the risk of lung cancer death among self-reported never-smoking women who were cancer-free at baseline, in relation to age at menarche, age at menopause, time since menopause, prior use of oral contraceptives (OCP), number of livebirths, breastfeeding and age at first livebirth. Women were followed up to December 31, 2016 with linkage to mortality data. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox regression, adjusting for key confounders including several socio-demographic, environmental and lifestyle factors. Among 287 408 never-smoking women, 814 died from lung cancer with a median follow-up of 10.3 years. Women who had used OCP within 15 years prior to baseline had a significantly higher hazard of lung cancer death compared with never-users: HR = 1.85 (95% CI: 1.14-3.00) and risk increased by 6% with each additional year of use: HR = 1.06 (1.01-1.10). Among parous women, the hazard of lung cancer death increased by 13% with each single livebirth: HR = 1.13 (1.05-1.23); and among post-menopausal women, the risk increased by 2% with each year since menopause: HR = 1.02 (1.01-1.04). These results suggest that reproductive factors which were proxies for lower endogenous oestrogen level, for example, longer duration of OCP use, could play a role in lung cancer development.     

六味地黄丸干预绝经后骨质疏松症患者基因表达谱分析

目的探讨中药六味地黄丸干预绝经后骨质疏松患者的分子机制并分析预测其靶标和药物作用通路。方法检索并下载GEO中与采用六味地黄丸干预绝经后骨质疏松症的微阵列基因表达数据集。通过获取的基因表达数据集,分析六味地黄丸干预前后绝经后骨质疏松症患者血液中差异表达基因变化,并将这部分差异表达基因与在绝经后骨质疏松症患者和正常绝经女性血液中差异表达的基因取交集,获得两对比组中共同差异表达的基因。通过基因本体论数据库(GO)对获得的共同差异表达基因分别从生物过程(BP)、分子功能(MF)和细胞组分(CC)三方面进行功能富集分析;利用京都基因和基因组百科全书数据库(KEGG)进行通路富集分析。利用生物通用交互数据集库(BioGRID)分析获得与共同差异表达基因产物互作的蛋白质,并构建蛋白质-蛋白质互作关系(PPI)网络,采用Cytoscape软件实现蛋白质-蛋白质互作关系网络的可视化。应用中医药数据库(BATMAN-TCM)对六味地黄丸主要中药成分的靶标基因进行预测。结果六味地黄丸干预后,得到1 350个差异表达基因,其中上调表达基因322个,下调表达基因1 027个。58个共同差异表达基因与六味地黄丸干预绝经后骨质疏松的分子机制相关,六味地黄丸干预后43个基因下调,15个基因上调。六味地黄丸主要中药成分的10个共同差异表达基因靶标为ESR1, FGFR2, MED1, PGR, PRKCB, PTGS1, PTGS2, TRIM24, VDR, WNT4。与六味地黄丸干预组差异表达基因对比分析,ATF2, FBXW7以及RDX基因在干预后呈现显著差异表达。结论 ATF2, FBXW7和RDX基因为参与六味地黄丸干预绝经后骨质疏松分子调控机制的关键基因。六味地黄丸主要中药成分的10个共同靶标基因中,ESR1, FGFR2, MED1, WNT4为六味地黄丸干预治疗绝经后骨质疏松等相关内分泌疾病的潜在调控基因。     

Age at menopause in India: A systematic review

Background and aimsMenopause is a physiological process in nature and hence, variations in the age of menopause are not expected. Hence, the study was conducted with an objective to calculate the reliable estimates of age at menopause for India, and understand the differentials in women’s age at menopause throughout the country.MethodsA total of 202 studies of age at menopause, covering the period 2009–2020, were accessed from PubMed database and Google. Of these only ten studies met the selection criteria for this paper, which is that the data for these studies must be collected from house-to-house surveys.ResultsThe average age at menopause in India, with minimal publication bias, is 46.6 years (95% CI: 44.83, 48.44). In one study slightly above 1.96 Standard Deviation, was observed, as ascertained by Funnel Plot and Egger’s test. The mean age ranged from a minimum of 44.69 years (95% CI: 35.01, 54.37) to a maximum of 48.95 (95% CI: 42.29, 55.61) years. Furthermore, the age at menopause did not exhibit any significant variation by age at menarche, although the association was positive.ConclusionsThe age at menopause showed positive association with age at menarche. In India, during the period 2009–2020, it was 46.6 years, which significantly lower than the age in some developed countries. The differences may be methodological since no information was found regarding the distribution of age at menopause in the studies that were considered for meta-analysis.     

Pharmacotherapy for the treatment of vaginal atrophy

Introduction: Despite its frequency, recognition and therapy of vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) remain suboptimal. Wet mount microscopy, or vaginal pH as a proxy, allows VVA diagnosis in menopause, but also in young contraception users, after breast cancer, or postpartum. Intravaginal low dose estrogen product is the main therapy. Ultra-low-dose vaginal estriol is safe and sufficient in most cases, even in breast cancer patients, while hyaluronic acid can help women who cannot or do not want to use hormones.

Areas covered: The authors provide an overview of the current pharmaceutical treatment for vulvovaginal atrophy and provide their expert opinions on its future treatment.

Expert opinion: The basis of good treatment is a correct and complete diagnosis, using a microscope to study the maturity index of the vaginal fluid. Minimal dose of estriol intravaginally with or without lactobacilli is elegant, cheap and can safely be used after breast cancer and history of thromboembolic disease. Laser therapy requires validation and safety data, as is can potentially cause vaginal fibrosis and stenosis, and safer and cheaper alternatives are available.     

同型半胱氨酸与绝经后女性颈动脉粥样硬化的相关性研究

目的 研究同型半胱氨酸(homocysteine,Hcy)是否为绝经后女性颈动脉粥样硬化的独立风险因素。 方法 对2017年12月—2018年12月北京协和医院健康体检的1 204名55岁以上绝经后女性,进行Hcy检测和颈动脉超声检查。使用多变量logistic回归方法分析Hcy及其他传统风险因素对颈动脉粥样硬化的影响。 结果 Hcy平均值(12.4±3.3)μmol/L,高Hcy血症176人(14.62%)。Hcy与年龄和BMI正相关(分别r=0.19,P<0.001;r=0.11, P<0.001)。颈动脉粥样硬化患者的Hcy显著升高(Z=-2.56,P=0.011)。logistic回归显示,对于颈动脉粥样硬化只有年龄(OR=1.11,95%CI:1.09~1.14)和收缩压(OR=1.02,95%CI:1.01~1.02)是独立风险因素;对颈动脉斑块形成年龄(OR=1.10,95%CI:1.08~1.12)、收缩压(OR=1.02,95%CI:1.01~1.03)、糖化血红蛋白(OR=1.27,95%CI:1.07~1.50)和高血压病史(OR=1.40,95%CI:1.06~1.87)是独立危险因素。 结论 在绝经后女性,Hcy不是动脉粥样硬化发生的独立风险因素,筛查高Hcy血症在预防该人群颈动脉粥样硬化的意义仍需进一步证明。     

Ospemifene plus fractional CO2 laser: a powerful strategy to treat postmenopausal vulvar pain

Abstract

This study is a single-center, retrospective analysis of postmenopausal women presenting with dyspareunia and vulvar pain, aiming to evaluate relative effectiveness of vestibular CO₂ laser therapy as a treatment. Three monthly sessions of laser were performed to each patient and thereafter a three-months follow-up was stablished. A total number of 72 patients undergoing vestibular laser treatment were recruited from patient files in the period between 2016 and 2018. Among these, 39 women also received a concomitant treatment with ospemifene (60?mg/day) during the study period. There was a statistically significant reduction of all the symptoms in both groups up to the three month follow-up. Regarding dryness and dyspareunia, the relief tent to be more prominent in the ospemifene?+?laser group at all follow-ups and remained statistically significant at three-month follow-up. Specifically, vestibular dryness was significantly lower in the ospemifene?+?laser group compared with the laser treatment group (?87% vs???34%, respectively), and the vestibular health score started declining faster in the ospemifene?+?laser group. Although, additional research is needed to understand the mechanism of action, our data shows that a combination regimen of laser and ospemifene may improve clinical effectiveness for long-term treatment of symptoms associated with the under-recognized genitourinary syndrome of menopause.