BACKGROUND/AIMS
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the serum thiol-disulfide balance and climacteric symptoms.
MATERIAL and METHODS
A total of 106 women aged 42 to 78 years (53.18±7.39) participated in the study. The patients were divided into three groups as the perimenopausal period, early postmenopausal period, and late postmenopausal period. The climacteric symptoms of patients were assessed with the Greene scale. The serum thiol/disulfide hemostasis was assessed with a new automatic method. The Mann-Whitney U test, one-way analysis of variance, and post-hoc Tukey tests were used.
RESULTS
Native thiol and total thiol levels start decreasing after menopause. Women in the late postmenopausal period have been observed to have significantly lower levels compared to women in the perimenopausal and early postmenopausal periods. In the late postmenopause, perimenopause, and early post menopause, native thiol was measured as 430.81±45.35, 474.64±47.06, 461.22±47.66 (p<0.05), while total thiol was 460.22±49.96, 506.74±51.74, 492.25±57.81 (p<0.05), respectively. There was a negative correlation observed between vasomotor symptoms and all thiol components only in the early menopause group.
CONCLUSION
When the duration of the menopause exceeds 5 years, thiol levels reduce. This variation may be considered to be related to increasing age. Especially in the early menopausal period, administering antioxidant agents as support may contribute to reducing the vasomotor symptoms of patients.
Keywords: Climacterium, menopause, thiol/disulfide homeostasis, vasomotor symptoms