Alterations in postmenopausal plasmatic lipidome

BACKGROUND: Menopause consists of a physiological process in women between 40 and 50 years of age, and it has substantial consequences for health, ranging from disturbances in lipid and glycidic metabolism to psychological stress and sleep alterations, thereby increasing women’s risk of cardiovascular diseases. Here, we attempted to identify potential lipid alterations not identified by the classic methods. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed the serum lipid profile in 40 women in pre- and post-menopause using a lipidomic approach and mass spectrometry. Lipid species presented increased concentrations, with a difference of more than 25% post-menopause and with the ceramides (N.C23:0.Cer, N.C23:0(OH).Cer and N.C24:0(OH).Cer) standing out with a fold change of 1.68, 1.59, and 1.58, respectively. It was also observed that 14 metabolites presented a significant difference in the average concentrations between pre- and post-menopause, especially the ceramide species. Strong and positive correlations were identified between various metabolites and fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides. Of note were the association ceramide (N.C10:0.Cer) and lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE.a.C18:0) between fasting glucose and glycated hemoglobin. CONCLUSION: This study detected lipid alterations, especially in ceramides, post-menopause, as well as correlations with glycidic and lipid markers, which may in the future be useful to investigate diseases associated with menopause.