The Association of Prolactin Levels with Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases in Women: A Population-based Study

Cardiovascular diseases are common health problems in women. Evidence shows that serum prolactin levels can be related to the development of cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to determine the association between prolactin levels and cardiovascular diseases in women.

In this population-based study, eligible women were chosen from the participants of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Cox model was used to evaluate the relationship between prolactin levels and the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

A total of 1279 women participated in this study. There was no significant difference in the prolactin levels between the two groups with and without cardiovascular diseases (p=0.98). Age (affected group: 36.97±7.24 years Vs. non-affected group: 31.68±7.26 years; p<0.001) and body mass index (BMI) (affected group: 28.07±4.52 kg/m2 Vs. non-affected group: 26.01±4.46 kg/m2; p<0.001) was significantly higher in the affected group than the non-affected group. Prolactin was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in the whole population and in the menopausal and non-menopausal groups. There was no association in unadjusted model. However, in the adjusted model, the risk of cardiovascular diseases increased by 7% and 12% for each unit of increase in age and BMI, respectively. Moreover, in postmenopausal women, the risk increased by 10 and 11% for each unit of increase in age and BMI, respectively. Also, the number of births increased the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 25% in the whole population and by 79% in women of reproductive age.

The results of this study did not show a statistically significant association between the risk of cardiovascular diseases and the serum prolactin levels in women.