OBJECTIVES: To determine if postmenopausal women have different arterial stiffness, blood pressure (BP) values, or metabolic patterns in comparison to fertile women and to men at a population level. METHODS: This is a population-based epidemiologic study of 1853 representative men and women aged 18-95 years. Clinostatic humeral BP was measured using Omron 705CP. Aortic BP, augmentation index (AI), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were determined using applanation tonometry. Body mass index (BMI) and subscapular skinfold thickness were used as measures of adiposity. Fasting and postload blood glucose, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), low-density and high-density lipoprotein serum cholesterol (LDL-C and HDL-C) and triglycerides were assessed. RESULTS: Age was higher in postmenopausal women than in fertile women (68.8 ± 9.5 vs. 35.7 ± 10.2 years, p