Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd 2016; 76 - P223
DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1593070

Does the metabolic pattern during “Menopausal Transit” in Chinese women differ from Western population?

X Ruan 1, 2, S Brucker 2, H Seeger 2 AO Mueck 1, 2, for the Chinese-German Society of OB/GYN, affiliated to DGGG
  • 1Beijing Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 2University of Tuebingen, Dept. of Women's Health, Women's Health Research Institute, Tuebingen, Deutschland

Objectives: The “German-Chinese Society of Obstetrics & Gynecology (affiliated to DGGG)” recently was founded. Regarding menopause one aim is to investigate the "Transit" from peri- to postmenopause. In the present study the changes of the metabolic patterns of Chinese women were assessed in a large population.

Methods: Menopausal status was defined by the “2011 Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop criteria”. Metabolic patterns were assessed from 1,015 women aged 34 – 76 years without HRT living in 20 provinces of China who visited the Beijing Obstetrics & Gynecology hospital which is the largest women's hospital in China, and recently has established the first official menopause clinic centre in China. Besides Resting Energy Expenditure (REE), body fat and Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG), lipids were assessed, including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)), Apo A1, Apo B.

Results: Comparing postmenopausal with perimenopausal women (n = 279/736), TC, TG, LDL-C, FPG, body fat increased, and HDL-C and REE decreased significantly. LDL-C was correlated to increasing age and decreasing E2; HDL-C was correlated to decrease of FSH, TC was correlated to increase of FSH and to increasing age.

Conclusions: Metabolic patterns, for the first time as primary study endpoints in Chinese women assessed, significanly change during the transit similar compared to Western populations. Some can be related to menopausal status, some to increasing age, some to both, some were found also to be related to BMI. Surprisingly lipoprotein(a) did not change despite known possible interference with estrogenic status.