Effects of Hormone Therapy on Serum Lipid Levels in Postmenopausal Korean Women

OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to examine the effects of hormone therapy on serum lipid levels in postmenopausal Korean women. METHODS This retrospective cohort study included 154 healthy postmenopausal Korean women. Seventy-nine women took oral estrogen (conjugated equine estrogen 0.625 mg/day or equivalent), and 75 applied estrogen transdermally using 0.1% 17β-estradiol gel. Micronized progesterone (MP) was added to 40 women of oral group and 49 women in transdermal group. Serum levels of triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and lipoprotein (a) were measured before, 3 and 6 month after hormone therapy. RESULTS At baseline, mean body mass index (BMI) were lower (22.76 vs. 23.74 kg/m(2)) and proportion of family history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (61 vs. 39%) were higher in oral group. In oral group, LDL-C and lipoprotein(a) levels decreased, and triglyceride and HDL-C levels increased significantly after 3 and 6 months. There was no significant change in lipoprotein levels compared to the baseline in transdermal group. There were also no differences with additional MP. Changing pattern of HDL-C during 6 months was significantly different by the route of estrogen administration. CONCLUSION Oral estrogen therapy might be more beneficial than transdermal estrogen in terms of lipid in postmenopausal Korean women. The estrogen effects are not influenced by adding MP.