Design and protocol of Estrogenic Regulation of Muscle Apoptosis (ERMA) study with 47 to 55-year-old women's cohort : novel results show menopause-related differences in blood count
Abstract
Objective:
The multidisciplinary Estrogenic Regulation of Muscle Apoptosis (ERMA) study was designed to
reveal how hormonal differences over the menopausal stages affect the physiological and psychological functioning of middle-aged women. This paper describes the protocol and nonrespondent analysis of ERMA and novel findings on menopausal differences in blood count variables and their association with female sex hormones.
Methods:
Women aged 47 to 55 years were assigned to pre, early peri, late peri, and postmenopausal groups
based on follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and bleeding diary. Multivariate linear regression models were
constructed to estimate the association of 17b-estradiol (E2) and FSH with the blood count variables.
Results:
In all, 3,064 women returned the prequestionnaire (ERMA phase one), 1,393 donated blood samples and
were assigned to the relevant menopausal group (phase two), and 914 completed phase three, which included
physiological and psychological measurements. Nonrespondents were more likely than respondents to be obese,
whereas the menopausal groups showed no mean differences in body mass index. Blood count variables, while being
within clinical reference values, showed significant differences between groups. E2 and FSH were associated with
the white blood cell (WBC) count and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio.
Conclusions:
The ERMA study was successful in recruiting and characterizing the menopausal status of a cohort
sample of middle-aged women. The significant group differences found in the blood count variables and their
associations with E2 and FSH verifies menopause-associated changes in WBC composition potentially being an
early sign of low-grade inflammation that may develop later in life.
Key Words:
17b-Estradiol – Blood viscosity – FSH – Leucocyte count – Menopausal status – Neutrophil-
to-lymphocyte ratio.
Main Authors
Format
Articles
Research article
Published
2018
Series
Subjects
Publication in research information system
Publisher
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
The permanent address of the publication
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-201808223907Use this for linking
Review status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1072-3714
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000001117
Language
English
Published in
Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society
Citation
- Kovanen, V., Aukee, P., Kokko, K., Finni Juutinen, T., Tarkka, I., Tammelin, T., Kujala, U., Sipilä, S., & Laakkonen, E. (2018). Design and protocol of Estrogenic Regulation of Muscle Apoptosis (ERMA) study with 47 to 55-year-old women's cohort : novel results show menopause-related differences in blood count. Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society, 25(9), 1020-1032. https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000001117
License
Funder(s)
European Commission
Research Council of Finland
Research Council of Finland
Funding program(s)
MSCA Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, H2020
Akatemiahanke, SA
Akatemiatutkija, SA
MSCA Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, H2020
Academy Project, AoF
Academy Research Fellow, AoF
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Additional information about funding
This research is supported by the Academy of Finland (VK: Grant nro 275323, EKL: nro 309504), PANINI (SS: Horizon 2020-the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, ITN, ref 15-0667), and the Juho Vainio Foundation (EKL). Financial disclosure/conflicts of interest: None reported.
Copyright© 2018 the Authors