Menopause transition linked to changes in blood cholesterol and cardiovascular risk

New research presented at the ESC Congress 2024 in London, UK (30 August - 2 September) shows that women in the menopause transition period show changes in their blood cholesterol profiles which could have an adverse impact on their cardiovascular health.

There is an increase in 'bad' low-density type lipoprotein (LDL) particles and a decrease in 'good' high-density lipoprotein particles (HDL) that takes place during and after the menopause transition. Taken together, these changes suggest that menopause is associated with a transition to a higher-risk lipoprotein profile that could be more likely to cause cardiovascular disease, such as coronary artery disease."

Dr. Stephanie Moreno, Study Author, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the biggest killer of women, despite the misconceptionthat CVD is a 'man's disease' - 40% of all deaths in women are from CVD. While women develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) approximately ten years later than men, risk of CVD in women rises after menopause. The mechanisms underlying this acceleration in CVD risk are not well understood, but adverse changes in blood fat (lipid) measures are known to occur during the perimenopause period. Previous investigations have been largely restricted to traditional lipid measures (LDL [bad] cholesterol, HDL [good] cholesterol, and triglycerides) and have not examined changes in advanced lipids, including lipid subfractions and particle number which have been shown to be more predictive of cardiovascular disease in various studies.

In this study, the authors examined the changes over time in lipoprotein particles that occur during the menopause transition. A total of 1246 participants in the Dallas Heart Study (DHS) with known menopause status underwent measurement of common lipoproteins associated with CVD, including atherogenic LDL-P and small dense-LDL. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, at two time points (DHS1 and DHS2) they compared longitudinal changes in lipoprotein measures between pre-, peri-, post-menopausal women and men using statistical modelling. For their analysis peri- is the group that was pre-menopause at DHS I and post-menopause at DHS 2.

There were also 1346 men (reference group) included in the study with a mean age of 43 years. There was a total of 1246 women with a mean age of 42 years for the peri-group, 54 years for the post-group, and 34 years for the pre-group. Of the women 440 (35%) were pre-menopausal, 298 (24%) were peri-menopausal, and 508 (41%) were post-menopausal.

Over a median follow-up time of 7 years. All three female groups had an increase in LDL-P but the greatest percent change was found to be between peri and post groups at 8.3%. When compared to men the post-group has the greatest percent change of HDL-P with a negative change of 4.8%.

Small-dense LDL had a greater percent change in the peri- group when compared to men with a change of 213%. This percent change is ~15% higher than both pre- and post-menopause groups.

"We found that menopause is associated with adverse changes in lipoprotein profiles, with the most pronounced changes found to be in increases in 'bad' LDL-particles and subfractions observed for peri-menopausal women," said Dr Moreno. "When looked at together, these changes could help explain the increase of cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women and help determine if earlier interventions are warranted."

She concludes: "More research is needed to investigate whether these adverse changes in lipoproteins translate to greater cardiovascular risk."

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
UCL researchers develop UK's first national menopause education program