The influence of apo E phenotypes on the plasma triglycerides response to hormonal replacement therapy during the menopause

Objective: To study the influence of apo E phenotype in plasma lipids. espe cially in triglycerides levels, in menopausal women receiving hormonal repl acement therapy (HRT). Methods: One hundred and ten postmenopausal women we re studied. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C and triglycerides (TG) wer e measured before and after 3 months of HRT and the apo E phenotype was det ermined. According to the apo E phenotype the sample was divided into three groups: E2/E3 (n = 28), E3/E3 (n = 96) and E4/E3 (n = 25). Results: In the pre-treatment state, higher plasma levels of TC and TC/HDL-C ratio were ob served in women with phenotype E3/E4 (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.02. respectively ), while higher plasma TG levels were round in the apo E2/E3 group (P < 0.0 001). After HRT, women with phenotype E3/E4 showed higher levels of TC and TC/HDL-C ratio (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.006, respectively). The apo E2/E3 phen otype group showed increased levels of TG (P < 0.0001). In the multivariant analysis the changes of TG after HRT were related to the type of treatment used (P < 0.001). age (P = 0.05) and the apo E phenotype (E2/E3). Conclusi on: Women with phenotype E2/E3 have higher plasma TG levels and show a sign ificant post HRT increase compared with the other phenotypes. Other factors with a lower impact on TG levels are age and progestagen association. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.