Background: Dyslipidemia is a common and serious health problem, especially in middle-aged women. We aimed to reveal quantile-specific associations of serum lipids [triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c)] with influencing factors in middle-aged women.
Methods: A sample of 5635 participants were enrolled from Jilin, China, in 2012. Quantile regression (QR) model was performed to identify factors which influenced serum lipids in different quantiles.
Results: The influencing factors of TG, TC, LDL-c and HDL-c were different. Waist circumference (WC), menopause, smoking, diabetes and hypertension were positively associated with TG in almost all quantiles; Menopause and age were positively associated with TC in almost all quantiles. WC, living in urban areas and alcohol consumption were positively associated with TC in low and middle quantiles, diabetes was positively associated with TC from P50 to P95. The result of LDL-c was similar to TC; BMI was negatively associated with HDL-c from P50 to P90. WC and diabetes were negatively associated with HDL-c from P5 to P90.
Conclusion: Among middle-aged women, menopause, diabetes and WC were the main factors affecting the serum lipids. Postmenopausal women would get more risk in increasing the level of serum lipids.
Keywords: Dyslipidemia; Influencing factors; Quantile regression; Serum lipids.