Characterizing Vascular and Hormonal Changes in Women Across the Lifespan: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

We demonstrate that the age at which endothelial function declines and aortic stiffness increases in healthy women is 47 and 48, respectively. The inflection point in flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is 6 yr earlier than previously reported, and the association between age and FMD was mediated by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and progesterone (P 4 ) but not estradiol (E 2 ).