OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors in premenopausal and postmenopausal Asian Indian women.

METHODS

A total of 214 healthy women (25-65 y) from the Bolpur-Santiniketan area, West Bengal, India, took part in the study. The women were categorized into two groups, namely, premenopausal (n = 161) and postmenopausal (n = 53). Anthropometric measures, namely, minimum waist circumference (WC) and the sum of four (biceps + triceps + subscapular + suprailiac) skinfolds (SF4), were measured accordingly. Intra-abdominal visceral fat (IVF) was also measured. Left arm systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure was taken in participants. Metabolic profiles, namely, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin, testosterone, and estrogen, were measured accordingly.

RESULTS

The four factors identified in premenopausal women were factor 1: WC, SF4, IVF, TC, and TG; factor 2: HDL, SBP, DBP, and insulin; factor 3: TC, TG, LDL, and testosterone; and factor 4: FPG, testosterone, and estrogen. These four factors cumulatively explained 72.97% of the total phenotypic variation. In postmenopausal women, the four factors identified were factor 1: TC, TG, HDL, LDL, and DBP; factor 2: FPG, SBP, and DBP; factor 3: WC, SF4, and IVF; and factor 4: FPG, insulin, testosterone, and estrogen. These four factors together explained 90.71% of the total phenotypic variation in cardiometabolic risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

No common underlying physiological variables in premenopausal and postmenopausal women indicate that a single risk axis for clustering of cardiometabolic phenotypes is highly unlikely.