Background: Of previous studies, some have indicated an adverse development of serum lipids, blood pressure and body weight in women around the menopause. We sought to study these associations in data collected before the widespread use of lipid lowering drugs and hormone therapy.
Design: Population-based cohort study.
Methods: We analysed data from population-based cardiovascular surveys in Norway. During 1985--1988, all women aged 40-54 years in three counties were invited, 83% participated and 24,085 nonusers of hormone therapy were studied, of whom 12,736 had attended similar surveys 5 and 10 years earlier (1974--1978 and 1977--1983). Serum lipids, blood pressure, height and weight were measured, and menopausal status was registered by interview. Analyses were made in cross-sectional data and by comparing changes in serum lipids, body weight and blood pressure between the surveys according to menopausal exposure.
Results: Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides and the TC/high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol ratio increased from premenopausal to postmenopausal status. The HDL-cholesterol concentration seemed to increase slightly in the perimenopause. In women who had entered the postmenopausal phase most recently, the increases of TC and triglycerides since 5 years earlier were more than twice the levels of premenopausal women. The results were consistent in subgroups by age. Menopausal status was not associated with adverse development of blood pressure or body weight.
Conclusion: The menopausal transition may be associated with an accelerated increase of TC and triglyceride concentrations and of the TC/HDL-cholesterol ratio.