A Natural Experiment on the Effects of Ovarian Hormones on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Stress Reactivity: Bilateral Salpingo Oophorectomy Versus Hysterectomy Only

To test the effects of declining ovarian hormone levels on cardiovascular risk factors, blood pressure, lipids, weight, and physiological responses to stress were evaluated in 29 middle-aged premenopausal women prior to and following elective hysterectomy and/or bilateral salpingo oophorectomy (BSO). Prior to surgery, there were no group differences in standard or putative risk factors, with the exceptions of body composition measures and total cholesterol level. After surgery, women who had undergone BSO (n = 10) had higher levels of atherogenic lipids and stress-induced lipids and tended to have higher circulating levels of epinephrine and stress-induced systolic and diastolic blood pressure than women who had undergone hysterectomy only (n = 19). This study is consistent with the hypothesis that presence of ovarian hormones plays a key role in determining women's risk factor status.