A Comparative Study of Serum Estrogen and Lipid Profile between Premenopausal and Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

Background
Menopause is permanent cessation of menstruation. The effect of the hormonal changes associated with menopause on the serum lipid levels play important role in most cardiac related disorders associated with menopause.
Objectives
The present study was done to evaluate the serum level of lipid parameters in post and pre-menopausal women and to investigate the relationship of altered lipid levels to estrogen level in both groups.
Material and Methods
50 pre-menopausal and 50 post-menopausal women were selected for the study. Data was collected through clinical evaluation from questionnaires and laboratory investigations. Plasma estrogen and lipid profile determinations were done by using competitive binding immunoassay methods and enzymatic methods respectively. Student’s unpaired T test and Pearson’s test of correlation were used for the statistical analysis using Microsoft Excel. P­ values of < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.
Results
The study showed that there was a statistically significant increase in serum Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TG), LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol in post-menopausal women and statistically significant decrease in HDL cholesterol level and serum estrogen level in post-menopausal women compared to pre-menopausal women. However, this altered lipid parameters did not correlate significantly with declined estrogen level in post-menopausal women.
Conclusion
Our study showed significant dyslipidemia in post-menopausal women; hence they are at increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. However, further studies needed to establish the relation of dyslipidemia to serum estrogen level in post-menopausal women.