Lipid profile comparison between pre- and post-menopausal women

Abstract

Objective: To compare serum lipid values in premenopausal and postmenopausal women and to evaluate the relationship between menopause and lipid profiles. Methods: From January 2012 to December 2014, a total of 4 131 women aged between 40 and 59 years old were recruited as subjects in the Checkup Department of Beijing Tongren Hospital, and were grouped as pre-menopausal group (3 094 subjects) and post-menopausal group(1 037 subjects). Data including body mass index(BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-hip circumference ratio, serum total cholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(non-HDL-C), TC/HDL-C ratio, fast plasma glucose, serum uric acid, blood pressure and degree of fatty liver were compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the relationship between menopause and dyslipidemia. Results: The overall prevalence rate of dyslipidemia was 35.7%(1 475/4 131) in this cohort, and the prevalence rate of dyslipidemia in post-menopausal women group was significantly higher than in pre-menopausal women group (69.7%(723/1 037)vs. 24.3%(752/3 094), P<0.01). TC ((5.74±0.91)mmol/L vs.(4.65±0.61)mmol/L, P<0.01), TG((1.79±0.95)mmol/L vs. (0.89±0.32)mmol/L, P<0.01), LDL-C ((3.76±0.86)mmol/L vs. (2.87±0.57)mmol/L, P<0.01), non-HDL-C((4.27±0.80)mmol/L vs. (3.10±0.60)mmol/L, P<0.01), and TC/HDL-C ratio(4.15±1.04 vs. 3.13±0.72, P<0.01)were all significantly higher in post-menopausal subjects than in pre-menopausal subjects. HDL-C level was significantly lower in post-menopausal subjects than in pre-menopausal subjects((1.47±0.43)mmol/L vs. (1.54±0.33)mmol/L, P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting age, BMI, waist circumference, waist-hip circumference ratio, blood pressure, fast plasma glucose, serum uric acid and fatty liver, menopause was independently associated with dyslipidemia (OR=6.65, 95%CI 5.22-8.48, P<0.01). Factors such as BMI grade (normal body weight: OR=2.19, 95%CI 1.31-3.67, P<0.01; overweight: OR=3.41, 95%CI 2.00-5.83, P<0.01; obesity: OR=3.84, 95%CI 2.05-7.18, P<0.01), waist-hip circumference ratio abnormality (OR=1.68, 95%CI 1.44-1.97, P<0.01) and the degree of fatty liver (mild: OR=1.84, 95%CI 1.54-2.20, P<0.01; moderate: OR=1.67, 95%CI 1.25-2.23, P<0.01; severe: OR=5.23, 95%CI 1.78-15.35, P<0.01) were also associated with dyslipidemia in this cohort. Conclusions: The prevalence of dyslipidemia is higher in post-menopausal women than in pre-menopausal women, and the values of TC, TG, LDL-C, non-HDL-C, TC/HDL-C ratio of postmenopausal women are significantly higher than those of premenopausal women. Menopause is associated with dyslipidemia in this cohort.