A healthy lifestyle during the menopausal transition is associated with reduced development of atherosclerosis, new research suggests.
Investigators analyzed self-reported data on smoking, diet, and physical activity in more than 1100 women participating in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), constructing a 10-year average Healthy Lifestyle Score (HLS) during midlife.
They found that 14 years after baseline, markers of subclinical atherosclerosis, including common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT), adventitial diameter (CCA-AD), and carotid plaque were smaller in people with a higher HLS scores.
Of the three components of the HLS, smoking was the one most associated with increased risk for subclinical atherosclerosis.
"We found that women who have a healthy lifestyle (defined by abstinence from smoking, eating a healthy diet, and engaging in regular physical activity) during the midlife (the period that includes the menopausal transition) have lower levels of subclinical atherosclerosis later in their life," coauthors Ana Baylin, MD, DrPH, associate professor of nutritional sciences, epidemiology, and global health, University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, and Dongqing Wang, PhD candidate, University of Michigan (lead author), told theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology in an e-mail.
"Smoking appears to be more strongly associated with subclinical atherosclerosis than unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity, although the latter two behaviors are also associated with more subclinical atherosclerosis," they said.
