EFFECTS OF NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL MENOPAUSE ON PLASMA AND URINARY CALCIUM AND PHOSPHORUS

Abstract

Abstract Plasma and urinary levels of calcium and phosphorus have been determined in 39 healthy premenopausal women, 28 post-menapausal women in whom the menopause had been natural, and 51 women who had undergone bilateral salpingo-oophorec- tomy. The levels were increased after the menopause, particularly where this bad been artificial. It is suggested that loss of œ strogenic activity at the menopause results in increased bone resorption. It is not clear, however, whether the resultant negative calcium balance is the cause of or the result of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women.