Researchers from Arizona State University have identified a pattern of increased blood lipid levels, including cholesterol, in postmenopausal women among the Tsimane community in the Bolivian Amazon. The findings were published in the journal Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health.
The Tsimane are known for their traditional lifestyle and have some of the lowest rates of dementia and heart disease worldwide. Previous research has shown that their health outcomes differ significantly from those living in industrialized countries.
Lead author Madeleine Getz, a PhD student at ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change, explained that this is the first time such a relationship has been examined in a nonindustrial population with high physical activity levels. “While we have good data from industrialized populations, to our knowledge, nobody had looked at this relationship in a nonindustrial, highly active population like the Tsimane before,” said Getz.
The study found that five out of six measured factors—including triglycerides, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol—were higher after menopause among Tsimane women. “While the difference varied by marker, they were between 1.5 to 11% higher after menopause. To see these risk factors increase after menopause in this population, despite their incredibly low levels of heart disease, was unexpected,” said Getz.
Although the increase was two to seven times lower than what is documented in U.S. and U.K. populations, researchers noted a similar trend regardless of lifestyle differences. “This suggests that these increases in cholesterol around menopause may be a human universal, no matter how or where we live,” Getz said.
The Tsimane’s lifestyle involves high physical activity—about 15,000–20,000 steps per day—and diets without processed foods. This mirrors early human societies and provides insights into how modern environments affect health.
Benjamin Trumble, senior author on the study and professor at ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change as well as co-director of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project, highlighted the importance of this research partnership: “Working with populations like the Tsimane allows us to study global variations in … human health and disease” Trumble said. “The findings here suggest that menopause is associated with increased risk factors for heart disease, even in the population with the healthiest hearts in the world. That suggests that postmenopausal increases in heart disease may be a human universal, and part of our underlying physiology regardless of lifestyle choices.”
Arizona State University has also received recognition for its commitment to innovation; it was named number one for innovation for eight consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report (https://news.asu.edu/20220911-university-news-asu-no-1-innovation-us-news-world-report-eighth-year?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=asu&utm_campaign=ASURankings&utm_term=USNWR).
