Chronic hyperprolactinemia and plasma lipids in women.

Plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were studied in 15 hyperprolactinemic women who had a prolactin (PRL) adenoma, in comparison to 15 age-matched control women. In the hyperprolactinemic group, plasma lipids were also correlated to age, excess body weight (EBW), plasma PRL, and estradiol-17 beta (E2). Plasma TC, TG, and LDL-C were similar in both hyperprolactinemic and control women, while plasma HDL-C was significantly lower (P less than 0.01) in the hyperprolactinemic group. The correlation study showed a significant negative correlation between HDL-C and EBW (r = -0.64; P less than 0.02) and a slightly significant positive correlation between TG and PRL (r = 0.54; P less than 0.05). The direct effect of PRL on plasma lipids is difficult to establish since many factors influencing lipid metabolism are altered during hyperprolactinemia.