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SEX HORMONE LEVELS AFTER MENOPAUSE: OESTROGEN HORMONES

There is considerable variability in the sex hormone levels of postmenopausal women. In general, postmenopausal women whose ovaries are intact produce levels of ovarian hormones (except for oestradiol) comparable with those they produced in the early part of their menstrual cycle prior to menopause. The main difference between this group and those women who have had a surgical menopause is that the second group produce smaller amounts of the hormones known as androgens.

Oestrogen hormones

The change in the oestrogen hormone profile is a matter of altered balance between the various types of oestrogen produced.

OESTRONE This is the most constant form of oestrogen circulating in the bloodstream from childhood onwards. In postmenopausal women (with or without ovaries), its level is about the same as in the early part of the menstrual cycle before menopause. (Much higher levels occur at mid-cycle and in the late part of the cycle.) It is mainly produced from androgens (described later) in muscle and fat tissue. This is why body fat is a major factor in determining oestrogen levels in postmenopausal women. The ovaries (if present) produce some oestrone too.

OESTRADIOL Oestradiol is the most powerful of the oestrogen hormones and it has the greatest influence on the function of the heart and blood vessels, bone growth, brain metabolism, reproduction and menstruation. A postmenopausal woman (with ovaries) has about half the level she had in the early part of her menstrual cycle, which is about one-tenth of the average level for the whole menstrual cycle. Oestradiol levels of women without ovaries are somewhat lower.

Oestradiol is mainly converted from oestrone in fat and muscle tissue throughout the body, and from androgens in the adrenal glands — two small organs above the kidneys. Hot flushes and night sweats typically correspond with low levels of oestradiol.

OESTRIOL A third type of oestrogen produced in large amounts by the placenta during pregnancy is called oestriol. It is a weak form of oestrogen and is converted from oestrone. It is present in measurable amounts both before and after menopause in women with and without ovaries.

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