Menopausal stages and serum lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities in middle-aged women

Whether menopausal stage is associated with abnormalities in serum lipid and lipoprotein profiles remains unclear; studies have been conducted mostly in Western populations. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities by recently updated menopausal stages in middle-aged women.

This study was cross-sectional analysis of 1553 women aged 44-56 years, who underwent a comprehensive health screening examination in the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital Total Healthcare Centers, Korea, during 2012-2013. Lipid and lipoprotein profiles including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)), apolipoprotein A1 (Apo A1), apolipoprotein B (Apo B) were assessed. Prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals for lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities were estimated by menopausal stages as defined by the 2011 Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop+10 criteria.

Increased prevalence of lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities were observed across menopausal stages. The increased prevalence of high non-HDL-C was associated with the late menopausal transition and post-menopausal stages and was more pronounced in women with body mass index (BMI) <23 kg/m(2) than in those with BMI ≥23 kg/m(2) (P for interaction=0.006). Similarly, there was an interaction between BMI and menopausal stages in relation to high Apo B (P for interaction=0.05) and high Apo B/Apo A1 ratio (P for interaction=0.06).

Our findings extend previous results and suggest that the increased prevalence of lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities was associated not only with the post-menopausal stage but also late menopausal transition period.