Circulating concentrations of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 are associated with menopause status in Korean women.
BACKGROUND
Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) plays a role in adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance. Human circulating MCP-1 concentrations reportedly increase or remain unchanged according to obesity or insulin resistance in various ethnic populations; whether or not circulating MCP-1 concentrations increase after menopause has remained unclear.


METHODS
We investigated the relationship between circulating MCP-1 concentrations and obesity or insulin resistance, and the relationship between circulating MCP-1 and menopause status in premenopausal (n=111) and postmenopausal (n=64) Korean women.


RESULTS
Circulating MCP-1 concentrations were significantly higher in postmenopausal women than in obesity-matched premenopausal women; they did not differ between non-obese and obese subgroups of pre- and postmenopausal women. Circulating MCP-1 concentrations had a relationship with menopause status (rho=0.500, p=0.000), irrespective of obesity, but no relationship with obesity or insulin resistance. Circulating MCP-1 concentrations correlated with serum triglycerides (r=0.4, p=0.001) and also correlated with serum triglyceride concentrations, after adjusting for age and obesity, in postmenopausal women.


CONCLUSIONS
Circulating MCP-1 concentrations are associated with menopause status itself, irrespective of obesity; they do not correlate with obesity or insulin resistance in Korean women, most of whom are not severely obese.
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Eulji University, Daejeon, Korea.
Kang-Seo
KS
Park
Kyu-Jeung
KJ
Ahn
Byung-Joon
BJ
Kim
Hyun-Jin
HJ
Kim
Seung Min
SM
Yoo
Ju-Young
JY
Kim
Ki-Ho
KH
Lee
Haing-Woon
HW
Baik
Seong-Kyu
SK
Lee
D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D018932:Chemokine CCL2 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D007723:Korea; D008593:Menopause / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000097:blood; D017697:Premenopause / Q000097:blood
D018932:Chemokine CCL2