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Cigarette smoking and the degree of maturation of the vaginal squamous epithelium in postmenopausal women

To determine the effects of cigarette smoking on vaginal squamous epithelium in postmenopausal women, we studied the vaginal smear patterns of 199 healthy postmenopausal non-smokers and 41 healthy postmenopausal smokers, with a mean age of 56 years. A statistically significant difference to the haza...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical and experimental obstetrics & gynecology 2001, Vol.28 (4), p.274-276
Main Authors: Karamanidis, D, Tamiolakis, D, Koutsougeras, G, Tripsanas, C H, Retzos, K, Karidis, S, Liberis, B
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:To determine the effects of cigarette smoking on vaginal squamous epithelium in postmenopausal women, we studied the vaginal smear patterns of 199 healthy postmenopausal non-smokers and 41 healthy postmenopausal smokers, with a mean age of 56 years. A statistically significant difference to the hazard of smokers was found in the percentage of smears manifesting absence of maturation of vaginal squamous cells. A high incidence of atrophic-type vaginal smears in the group of smokers was also found independent of postmenopausal age. In the group of non-smokers, there was a statistically significant difference between the cytologic patterns of smears of women who were in the early postmenopausal age ( or =10 years). Finally our data suggest that smokers had an earlier menopause, on average 2.4 years sooner than non-smokers. Cigarette smoking has an effect on vaginal squamous epithelium, but pathophysiology still remains unclarified.
ISSN:0390-6663