Do premenopausal levels of cardiovascular risk factors predict the need for intervention in midlife women?
Premenopausal cardiovascular risk factor levels can effectively identify women who require targeted interventions during and after menopause.
Absolute risk for cardiovascular disease increases substantially in midlife, with a particularly adverse effect on lipid metabolism at the menopause. Premenopausal levels of risk factors are adequate to identify which women should be targeted for intervention.
Matthews et al. (2001) studied this question.