Menopausal status and metabolic syndrome among women with cardiovascular diseases: A cross-sectional study in Bangladesh

Background: There are currently no reports showing the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and menopause among Bangladeshi women with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Aim: The present study aims to examine the prevalence of MetS and evaluate the impact of menopausal status on the MetS among women with CVD in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: Data for the present analysis were collected from a cross-sectional study of 355 cardiovascular patients seeking care at five tertiary care hospitals in Bangladesh. A total of 146 women were included for this secondary analysis. The MetS was identified based on the definition of the Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). Results: About 45.83% pre-menopausal and 59.02% post-menopausal women were noticed to have MetS. The mean waist circumference, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride, and random plasma glucose levels were higher in post-menopausal women whereas HDL cholesterol value was higher in pre-menopausal women. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio showed that post-menopausal status (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.72; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-4.94) and obesity (AOR: 8.20; 95% CI: 1.15-58.77) were significantly associated with the presence of the MetS among women with CVD. Conclusion: The high prevalence of MetS among women with CVD is evident, particularly post-menopausal women. Hence, the present findings can alert women from the earlier stages of the menopausal transition to prevent the appearance of MetS.