Natural menopause and cardiovascular disease risk factors. The Poland and US Collaborative Study on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology.

Changes in risk factor levels associated with menopause have been reported in many studies in the United States and western Europe, where estrogen replacement therapy and surgical menopause are common. We studied risk factor associations in Polish women, for whom estrogen replacement therapy and surgical menopause are uncommon. The 357 postmenopausal women had higher total cholesterol levels (0.43 mmol/L) and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol levels (0.36 mmol/L than did the 372 premenopausal women of similar ages. Triglycerides, high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index, and blood pressure did not differ by menopausal status. We conclude that natural menopause is associated with higher levels of total and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Natural menopause is not associated with large changes in other risk factors in this sample.