Estrogen replacement therapy improves pulmonary function in postmenopausal women with genital prolapse.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the impact of estrogen replacement therapy with spirometry on pulmonary function in surgically castrated (salpingo-oophorectomy) postmenopausal women with genital prolapse. METHODS The study included 60 postmenopausal women with pelvic organ prolapse. The study received institutional Ethics Committee approval, and all subjects signed an informed consent. Women were randomly divided into two groups of 30 subjects: Group 1 (n=30) was administered estrogen replacement with 1 mg of stradiol hemihydrate (1 mg/day) orally for 6 months, and group 2 (n=30) was not taking estrogen. Both groups were matched by age, height, body mass index, parity, and duration of postmenopause. All subjects were evaluated with spirometry initially and after 6 months. For statistical analysis, descriptive and analytical methods were used, based on data type and distribution. The mean and standard deviations were used as measures of central tendency and variability. Categorical data were expressed as absolute and relative numbers (percentage). The t-test for independent samples (for comparison of groups) and t-test for dependent samples (for comparison of serial measurements in the same patients) were used. The analysis was performed using R software ( www.r-project.org ), with the level of significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS Analysis of spirometry parameters showed statistically significant differences between the estrogen users and the nonusers groups. CONCLUSION The most important study result was the significantly improved lung respiratory function in postmenopausal women with genital prolapse after 6 months of taking estrogen, confirming that hormone replacement therapy should be recommended to postmenopausal women. The findings of our study suggest the need for further research into the effect of estrogen on pulmonary function.