Women in the menopause transition period experience alterations in their blood cholesterol profiles, which may have a negative influence on their cardiovascular health, suggested a new research presented at the ESC Congress 2024 in London, UK (1).

Manopause is Linked with Changes in Cholesterol Profile

“During and after menopause, there is an increase in ‘bad’ low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles and a decrease in ‘good’ high-density lipoprotein particles (HDL),” says study author Dr. Stephanie Moreno of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX, USA. “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.”

Cardiovascular Diseases: Is it a Man’s or Women’s Disease?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women, despite the common assumption that CVD is a ‘man’s disease. CVD accounts for 40% of all fatalities in women. Women develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) around 10 years later than males, however the risk of CVD increases after menopause. Although the mechanisms underlying this increase in CVD risk are unknown, unfavorable alterations in blood fat (lipid) measurements have been observed during the perimenopause interval. Previous studies focused primarily on traditional lipid measures (LDL [bad] cholesterol, HDL [good] cholesterol, and triglycerides) and did not look at changes in advanced lipids, such as lipid subfractions and particle number, which have been shown in various studies to be more predictive of cardiovascular disease.

Blood Cholesterol Levels Get Affected During the Menopause Transition

The authors of this study investigated the changes over time in lipoprotein particles that occur during the menopause transition. A total of 1246 Dallas Heart Study (DHS) patients with known menopausal status were measured for common lipoproteins linked with CVD, including atherogenic LDL-P and small dense LDL. They used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology at two time intervals (DHS1 and DHS2) to examine longitudinal changes in lipoprotein measurements between pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women and men using statistical modeling. For their analysis, peri- is the group that was pre-menopausal at DHS I and postmenopausal at DHS 2.

The study also included 1346 men (the reference group), with an average age of 43 years. A total of 1246 women participated, with a mean age of 42 years for the peri-group, 54 years for the post-group, and 34 years for the pre-group. Among the women, 440 (35%) were premenopausal, 298 (24%) were perimenopausal, and 508 (41%) were postmenopausal.

Peri and Post Menopausal Women Experienced More Changes in Lipid Profile

Over a median follow-up period of 7 years. All three female groups showed an increase in LDL-P, however the highest percentage change was reported between the peri and post groups, at 8.3%. When compared to men, the post-group had the biggest percentage change in HDL-P, with a 4.8% decrease.

The peri-group experienced a 213% increase in small-dense LDL compared to men. This percentage change is approximately 15% higher than both pre- and post-menopause groups.

“We showed that menopause is related with detrimental changes in lipoprotein profiles, with the most prominent alterations reported to be in increases in ‘bad’ LDL-particles and subfractions identified for peri-menopausal women,” stated 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 draws the conclusion, “More research is needed to investigate whether these adverse changes in lipoproteins translate to greater cardiovascular risk.”

References:

1. Menopause potentially linked to adverse cardiovascular health through blood fat profile changes
   (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1055512)

Source-Medindia