Changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors during menopausal transition in Japanese women: the Circulatory Risk in Communities Study (CIRCS)

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to longitudinally clarify the changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors associated with menopause in Japanese women in the 2000s. METHODS: Of the 4,596 women who underwent health examinations between 2007 and 2012 in three communities of the Circulatory Risk in Communities Study, 263 women who reported going through menopause during that period were included in the study. We randomly selected 1,665 men as control subjects who participated in a health examination at least once between 2001 and 2009 and at least once between 2010 and 2018 by 1:1 pair-matching for age, community, and examination year. The health examination data from 3 to 6 years before (2001-2009) and after menopause age (2010-2018) were compared in terms of body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, hemoglobin A(1c), hemoglobin, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and current smoker status. RESULTS: Compared with the men, the women showed a greater increase in serum total cholesterol (+16.7 vs −3.1 mg/dL, P < 0.001), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (+15.9 vs −6.3 mg/dL, P < 0.001), fasting triglycerides (+1.2 vs +1.0 mg/dL, P = 0.027), triglycerides regardless of fasting status (+1.2 vs −0.9 mg/dL, P < 0.001), uric acid (+0.5 vs +0.2 mg/dL, P = 0.008), hemoglobin (+0.9 vs −0.3 g/dL, P < 0.001), aspartate aminotransferase (+2.9 vs −2.7 IU/L, P < 0.001), and alanine aminotransferase (+2.9 vs −2.6 IU/L, P < 0.001). No differences were found in the changes in body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and hemoglobin A(1c) between the women and the matched men. CONCLUSIONS: Menopause may be a crucial factor related to changes in serum total cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, hemoglobin, and liver enzymes.