Lipoprotein subfractions in women athletes: effects of age, visceral obesity and aerobic fitness

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether lipoprotein subfractions are associated with age-related changes in visceral obesity and maximal aerobic fitness in women athletes.

SUBJECTS AND MEASUREMENTS: Body composition was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and a single slice computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen of 39 women athletes (age: 18–69 y, body mass index (BMI): 19–24 kg/m²). Lipoprotein lipids were measured in plasma drawn after a 12 h fast using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which quantifies lipoprotein subfractions by the spectroscopic differences exhibited by lipoprotein particles of various sizes.

RESULTS: Total cholesterol (r=0.42; P<0.01) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (r=0.32; P=0.05) correlated positively with age, even after adjustment for age-related decreases in maximal aerobic fitness (VO₂ max) and increases in the intra-abdominal fat area. There were no relationships between any of the lipoprotein subfractions or sizes with age. Very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) size and VLDL2-TG correlated with total fat mass (r=0.40 and r=−0.43, respectively; P<0.05) and with intra-abdominal fat area (r=−0.47 and r=0.43, respectively; P<0.01), but not independently of total fat mass. Total cholesterol and LDL-C were negatively related to maximal aerobic fitness (VO₂max) (r=−0.37 and r=−0.33, respectively; P<0.05), while low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) size was positively related to VO₂max (r=0.35, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that age-associated changes in lipoprotein concentrations are probably, in part, due to primary aging, rather than age-related changes in abdominal obesity and aerobic fitness.