Osteoarthritis strikes women more often than men. Abundant clinical research underscores the importance of the female sex hormone estrogen in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis.

Both human and animal studies have identified specific estrogen receptors in the cells of cartilage damaged by osteoarthritis.1-3 Metabolism of estrogen--specifically the conversion of estrone into estradiol--has also been observed within osteoarthritic cartilage tissue.4 Based on these results, some researchers have proposed that estradiol mediates the damage to cartilage tissue in osteoarthritis.5 A study of premenopausal women from the University of Michigan found that the severity of osteoarthritis of the knee positively corresponded with the body's circulating levels of estradiol.6

At the same time, most recent clinical research has stressed that osteoarthritis chiefly strikes women after age 50-- during or after menopause. This strongly implicates estrogen imbalances during menopause and/or estrogen deficiency following menopause as major hormonal risk factors for the disease.7, 8

Indeed, large-scale controlled studies have shown a reduced incidence of osteoarthritis in postmenopausal women who undergo long-term estrogen replacement therapy. Separate studies by Spector and Zhang found that estrogen therapy improved the condition of osteoarthritis of the knee, as determined by radiographic evidence.9,10 In an epidemiological study of over 4000 postmenopausal women, Dr. Michael Nevitt and his colleagues calculated that women who maintained optimal levels of estrogen over a long period of time reduced their likelihood of osteoarthritis of the hip by 38%.11

Great Smokies' Menopause Profile is a noninvasive saliva analysis of estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone that offers insight into female hormone imbalances during and after menopause--imbalances that may be playing a pivotal role in the development and progression of osteoarthritis.