Post‐lunch triglyceridaemia associates with HDLc and insulin resistance in fasting normotriglyceridaemic menopausal women

OBJECTIVES: Post-prandial hypertriglyceridaemia (P-HTG) is associated with cardiovascular disease. This association is of paramount importance during menopause, which is also related to reduced high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDLc) and elevated triglyceride (TG) levels. We aimed to provide a self-assesing tool to screen for P-HTG in menopausal women who were normotriglyceridaemic at fasting and adhered to a Mediterranean-style eating pattern. METHODS: We performed oral fat loading tests (OFLT) in combination with self-measurements of diurnal capillary TG at fixed time-points (DC-TG) in 29 healthy menopausal women. TG levels >220 mg dL-1 at any given time during the OFLT served as diagnostic criteria for P-HTG. Subsequently, DC-TG profiles were examined to determine the best mealtime (breakfast, lunch or dinner), as well as optimal cut-off points to classify these women as having P-HTG according to the OFLT. Insulin resistance was defined as the upper tertile of the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance. RESULTS: We found that, despite having normal fasting TG levels, P-HTG was highly prevalent (approximately 40%). Moreover, self-assessed 3-h post-lunch TG levels >165 mg dL-1 increased the odds of having hypo-HDL cholesterolaemia by 14.1-fold (P = 0.026) and the odds of having insulin resistance by 31.6-fold (P = 0.007), adjusted for total fat intake in women adhering to a Mediterranean eating pattern having their highest energy intake at lunch. CONCLUSIONS: Self-assessed 3-h post-lunch TG can be used to study post-prandial TG metabolism in Southern European menopausal women who are normotriglyceridaemic at fasting. Characterising an individual's post-prandial response may help menopausal women to evaluate their risk of cardiovascular disease.