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Eicosapentaenoic Acid Effect on Hyperlipidemia in Menopausal Japanese Women

From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan.

Address reprint requests to: Kenichi Tanaka, MD Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Niigata University School of Medicine 1-757 Asahimachi-dori, Niigata-city Niigata 951-8510 Japan

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of eicosapentaenoic acid for the treatment of hyperlipidemia in symptomatic menopausal Japanese women.

Methods: We performed a prospective observational 48-week study in hyperlipidemic menopausal women. We randomly assigned 141 women, whose levels of serum total cholesterol were 220 to 280 mg/dL or whose serum triglycerides were 150 to 400 mg/dL at baseline to groups treated with estriol (E3) 2 mg daily (control group, n = 72) or ethyl icosapentate 1800 mg daily and E3 2 mg (eicosapentaenoic acid group, n = 69).

Results: Serum levels of total cholesterol decreased significantly from 249.4 to 238.6 mg/dL (-4.3%, P = .003) in the control group and from 252.3 to 234.0 mg/dL (-7.3%, P = .001) in the study group at week 48 in the women whose total cholesterol was not less than 220 mg/dL at baseline. Serum levels of triglycerides decreased significantly from 194.5 to 141.5 mg/dL (-27.2%, P = .001) in the study group but increased slightly from 192.9 to 207.4 mg/dL (+7.5%) in the control group at week 48 in the women whose level of triglycerides was not less than 150 mg/dL. There were significant differences between these two groups at weeks 12, 24, and 48. Serum levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly decreased at week 48 in the study group regardless of whether the women were obese. There were no severe adverse effects.

Conclusion: Combination therapy with eicosapentaenoic acid and E3 was effective and safe for menopausal women with hypertriglyceridemia.