Possible risk factor for postmenopausal women: postprandial hypertriglyceridemia.

AIM

To explore the clinical implications of postprandial hypertriglyceridemia in postmenopausal Japanese women.

METHODS

Postprandial blood samples were collected from 91 women at their initial visit, with fasting blood samples collected within the following month to examine their lipid profiles. These women were grouped into normotriglyceridemia (fasting/postprandial triglycerides [TG] < 150; n = 36), mild postprandial hypertriglyceridemia (fasting TG < 150, postprandial TG > or = 150, < 225; n = 27), moderate postprandial hypertriglyceridemia (fasting TG < 150, postprandial TG > or = 225; n = 19) and hypertriglyceridemia (fasting TG > or = 150; n = 9) by using 225 mg/dL as the cut-off value for postprandial hypertriglyceridemia.

RESULTS

The subjects were 54.1 +/- 7.8 years old; their duration of menopause, 6.0 +/- 7.7 years; body mass index, 21.4 +/- 4.0 kg/m(2); postprandial TG concentration, 189 +/- 110 mg/dL; and fasting TG concentration, 109 +/- 50 mg/dL. Approximately 50% (n = 46) of the women had normal fasting TG (fasting TG < 150), but high postprandial TG (postprandial TG > or = 150). Approximately 10% (n = 9) of the women had hypertriglyceridemia (fasting TG > or = 150 mg/dL). In those with postprandial hypertriglyceridemia (n = 46), postprandial TG negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), while fasting TG showed no such correlation with HDL-C.

CONCLUSION

Postprandial TG may provide a better understanding of lipid metabolism in postmenopausal women.