Abstract des Autors

Plasma lipid and lipoprotein profiles were compared in middle-aged trained and untrained women before and after menopause. Subjects were assigned to one of four groups: (1) pre-menopausal trained (Pre-T: n=17, aged 42+/-5 years, body fat 19+/-5%, training distance 53+/-20 km/week, VO2max 49+/-4 ml/kg/min); (2) pre-menopausal untrained (Pre-UT: n=26, 42+/-5 years, 24+/-7%, 34+/-6 ml/kg/min); (3) post-menopausal trained (Post-T: n=16, 54+/-3 years, 20+/-4%, 43+/-19 km/week, 41+/-5 ml/kg/min); and (4) post-menopausal untrained (Post-UT: n=15, 55+/-3 years, 25+/-6%, 31+/-3 ml/kg/min). There were no significant differences in total cholesterol (range 173-194 mg/dl), triglyceride (56-72 mg/dl), and HDL-cholesterol (HDLC: 76-85 mg/dl) among the four groups. LDL-cholesterol (LDLC) in the post-menopausal women (Post-T: 96+/-32 mg/dl; Post-UT: 104+/-23 mg/dl) tended to be higher than in the premenopausal women (Pre-T: 86+/-25 mg/dl, Pre-UT: 81+/-23 mg/dl). LDLC/HDLC ratio in Post-UT (1,42+/-0,38 unit) was higher than in the pre-menopausal women (Pre-T: 1,03+/-0,31 unit, P<0,01; Pre-UT: 1,10+/-0,38 unit, P<0,05), whereas the ratio in Post-T (1,20+/-0,38 unit) was not different from those of the pre-menopausal groups. These results suggest that endurance running protects against the increase in LDLC/HDLC ratio that frequently occurs after menopause. Verf.-Referat