Objective

The association of sex-specific hormones with coronary computed tomography angiography(CCTA)-based plaque characteristics in women without cardiovascular disease is not well understood. We investigated the association of sex-specific hormones with coronary artery plaque characteristics in a contemporary multiracial cohort with no clinical coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods

In this cross-sectional analysis, we utilized data from 2,325 individuals with no clinical CAD from the Miami Heart (MiHeart) study. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to investigate the association of sex hormones: sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), free and total testosterone, estradiol, with plaque characteristics among women and men.

Results

Of the 1,155 women, 34.2% had any plaque and 3.4% had any high-risk plaque features (HRP) while among men (n = 1170), 63.1% had any plaque and 10.4% had HRP. Among women, estradiol and SHBG were associated with lower odds of any plaque after adjusting for age and race-ethnicity (estradiol OR per SD increase: 0.87, 95%CI: 0.76-0.98; SHBG OR per SD increase: 0.82, 95%CI: 0.72-0.93) but the significance did not persist after adjustment of cardiovascular risk factors. High free testosterone was associated with higher odds of HRP (aOR:3.48, 95%CI:1.07-11.26) but null associations for the other sex hormones with HRP, in the context of limited sample size. Among men, there were no significant associations between sex-specific hormones and plaque or HRP.

Conclusion

Among young to middle-aged women with no clinical CAD, increasing estradiol and SHBG were associated with lower odds of any plaque and higher free testosterone was associated with HRP. Larger cohorts may be needed to validate this.