Long-term effects of the menopause and sex hormones on skin thickness.

Skin collagen content and skin thickness in a group of postmenopausal women who had been treated with sex hormone implants were compared with those in an untreated group of similar women. Both skin collagen content and thickness were found to be significantly greater in the treated than in the untreated group. In the untreated women skin collagen content declined in relation to menopausal age but not to chronological age. No correlation was found with menopausal age, chronological age or duration of therapy in the treated group. These data suggest that skin collagen is influenced by the sex hormone status and declines after the menopause, contributing to the increase in urinary hydroxyproline excretion that has been reported to occur at this time.