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Menopause‐associated changes in plasma lipids, insulin‐like growth factor I and blood pressure: a longitudinal study
Author(s) -
POEHLMAN E. T.,
TOTH M. J.,
ADES P. A.,
ROSEN C. J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2362.1997.1160662.x
Subject(s) - menopause , medicine , endocrinology , blood pressure , risk factor , surgical menopause , blood lipids , cholesterol
We examined the effects of the menopause transition on plasma lipids, insulin‐like growth factor I (IGF‐I) and blood pressure. An initial cohort of 38, non‐smoking, healthy premenopausal women (44–48 years) were examined at baseline and after a 6‐year follow‐up period. At follow‐up, 18 women had spontaneously stopped menstruating, whereas 17 women remained premenopausal. Women who experienced natural menopause showed a greater decline in high‐density lipoproteins (−5 ± 4 mg dL −1 vs. −1 ± 3 mg dL −1 ; P < 0.01) and a greater increase in low‐density lipoproteins (13 ± 12 vs. 5 ± 10 mg dL −1 ; P < 0.05) and fasting triglycerides (14 ± 15 vs. 5 ± 11 mg dL −1 ; P < 0.05) than women who remained premenopausal. No menopause effect was noted for total cholesterol. We noted a greater decline in IGF‐I levels in women who experienced a natural menopause (−21 ± 11 ng mL −1 ) than women who remained postmenopausal (−4 ± 10 ng mL −1 ). Systolic blood pressure increased in postmenopausal (13 ± 10 mmHg) compared with premenopausal women (5 ± 4 mmHg; P < 0.01), whereas no menopause effect was noted for diastolic blood pressure. The increase in the waist‐to‐hip ratio was related to a decrease in high‐density lipoprotein ( r = −0.49; P − 0.05) and increase in low‐density lipoproteins ( r = 0.48; P < 0.05). The decline in IGF‐I was related to the decline in reported leisure time physical activity (0.44; P < 0.05). We conclude that the natural menopause transition is associated with a worsening of the lipid profile and decline in IGF‐I, which might be mitigated by deleterious changes in body fat distribution and physical activity.