The Association between Menopause Status, Age, and Cholesterol: The Hilo Women's Health Study

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one killer worldwide, in the United States, and in the state of Hawai’i. Women’s risk for CVDs increases after menopause, partially due to changing cholesterol levels. The Hilo Women’s Health Study seeks to advance knowledge of women going through the menopausal transition in the multiethnic population of Hilo, Hawai’i, including Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The two phase, cross-sectional study obtained information on 189 women from the ages of 45 to 55. Menopausal status was divided into premenopause, perimenopause, and postmenopause, and regressed on total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides, and the triglyceride to HDL-C ratio. After adjusting for potential confounders, menopause status was significantly associated with total cholesterol and LDL-C. However, ethnicity was significantly associated with all of the cholesterol measures. Conversely, age was not found to be associated with any of the measures.